Life has been so busy that I often don't have the time/energy to write up testimonies. God continues to do many things in my life, but not all of them are getting documented. However, He did this one little thing last Sunday during worship that I wanted to share, because it is so typical of His heart to use us to bless each other.

I came to church knowing I was going to have a deep encounter with God in the worship service, because He told me to expect that. I was not sure what it would "look like," as that can be anything from being saturated with His presence to encountering His power to being taken up into the Heavenlies in an open vision. I think I was kind of hoping for the later, the open vision.

But the way God met Me was to saturate me in His presence. At one point I became aware of an angel standing next to me and placing his hand on my forehead. As he did that, I was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of God's nearness. I could feel my lungs taking in deep breathes, and it felt like I was breathing in His presence. I wanted to ask God why He sent an angel to touch me instead of directly touching me Himself, but I never got the chance. It did not take me long to get overwhelmed with His nearness and lost in His love. I felt myself dropping to a kneeling position. It seemed good and right to kneel before Him.

God manifests different aspects of His nature to me at different times. I find His holiness very terrifying at times, because it makes me very aware of my own sinful nature and my great need to be covered in the blood of Jesus. I started to get a sense of His holiness and I remembered thinking to myself, "I hope I don't do anything dumb when I am near Him." (There was one time when He showed up in my guestroom and I got so terrified that I got up and ran out of the room. Three steps down the hall I realized what I was doing and I went back into the room and had a wonderful encounter with God.) I did not want a repeat of running away and missing out on what He had for me. So I asked God if He would send an angel to hold me down so I would not run away.

God started laughing at my request. Then He told me that this time was not going to be scary, that He was going to manifest His goodness to me. Then I felt His presence on me in a very nice way, it felt like honey and tingling. I was aware of only His goodness and love. I sort of got lost in it. It was too much effort to remain kneeling, so I laid down on my back on the floor.

Then I felt this warmth on my stomach...it kept getting warmer and warmer until it was really hot. I asked God what was going on and He opened my eyes to see in the spirit, and I saw an angel with it's hand on my belly right where it was so hot. I asked God what was going on and He said that He was imparting something into me, but He did not tell me what it was. His presence was too strong to press in for more information. SO I just began to relax in His presence and bask in His goodness and enjoy His nearness and worship Him. I can't describe the joy/bliss that being hear Him like that produces.

I was moving my hands around a lot as I laid there and worshipped Him. At one point, my right hand touched a Kleenex box and I became aware briefly of my surroundings, that I was in the worship service at church. I opened my eyes and saw the lady in the second row, just behind where I was laying. Her eyes were closed and tears were streaming down her face. The Holy Spirit was clearly ministering to her. I thought to myself how beautiful the Holy Spirit looks when He is on His people.

Then God said to me, "Teresa, put the Kleenex box on the chair so that she can reach it because she has been asking Me for it." (The box was on the floor under the chair.) It was SO easy to obey Him, it did not take any effort at all to pick up the box with my arm and put it on the chair. I was positioned so I could easily reach the box and the chair. I obeyed Him and then went back to worship. It did not take long to forget the Kleenex, to forget the service an to be completely lost in His presence again. That lasted for some more time (worship went about 50 minuets that day) and it was wonderful.

When the service was over, the lady who had been sitting behind me came up to me and told me how grateful she was that I had put the Kleenex box where she could reach it. She said that God was on her and tears had been streaming from her eyes and she told the Lord how much she would appreciate it if He got her some Kleenex. Then she opened eyes to seem me placing the box on the chair in front of her. She was so greatful and excited that God had answered her simple prayer and wanted to tell me about it since I had been part of that answer. When I told her that God had spoken to me and explicitely told me to put it there for her, she was overwhelmed that He would do that for her.

Isn't it neat how God hears our prayers and takes such good care of us, even to the point of having someone put a Kleenex box where someone else can reach it. I love the way He uses us to bless one another. Yes, it is just a little thing, but both that lady and myself went away from service feeling especially loved by the Lord and very much in awe of His goodness.