Jeff is heading home to our Windsor house to check on the roof.  Our neighbors say that our house looks ok from the outside and they didn't see any broken windows.  The tornado crossed about 4-6 blocks from our house so we were very lucky, and is in the area that has been blocked off until today.  The hail was 4-6 inches wide so we are pretty sure that we will have to do some repairs to the roof, but Jeff will know more when he comes back to grandpa's house in Denver, where we will be staying for the next 3 months.  I had a friend who had major damage to her house and her son lost his house completely.  We are planning to loan our house to them when they need a place to stay as they repair their home.  Julia is doing great; right now the biggest struggle is helping her remember that she is still healing from the surgery.  She has been trying to climb and jump and do the things that she used to do, which she needs to not be doing while her chest is healing.  I am sort of forcing her to take some cat naps during the day so that her body has time to heal, but I am so amazed at how well she is doing.  It has been amazing to see her playing with her toys and running around the house.  We had such a scary time when she had the seizures on the 3rd day post op, which is an extremely rare complication that was not expected at all.  Once they had those under control her recovery has gone smoothly.  Her heart is still "trying to get used to its new home" so she is still on heart medications to help it get its rhythm normalized.  This can take several weeks-months as the new heart doesn't have nerves connected to the brain because they are all cut when they are removed from the donor.  This means that the heart has to use its own internal mechanisms for beating.  They turned off the external on the 4th day post op since she hadn't needed it to "fire" for 24 hours.  Her echo was not stellar, but the doctors say that this is normal at this point post op.  I am so thankful that doctors and scientist have spent so much time and energy researching transplantation.  We have a long road ahead getting used to the medications and hopefully avoiding rejection, but for the first time in her life, I really feel like she can live a long life.  For right now, that is such a relief.   Thank you to everyone for the well wishes, we are so thankful for all the love we have recieved from so many.

That should say external pace maker

I'm glad to hear that Julia is home:) That is great news!

Here in West Virginia we have recently had an incredible miracle of a woman coming back to life after being dead for 17 hours. Here the link:

Link to story of woman coming back to life

Awesome...thanks for keeping us posted.

Oh Lord. Here we go again...:) The fact that doctors can't explain it or for all matters that cannot be scientifically explained so far, does not mean an automatic miracle. I'm sure there must have been someone who yelled "miracle" when Edison found the right combination for a light bulb... after a thousand attempts.

Probably the same things with deep forest indigenous communities saw their first cigarette lighter. Had it dropped from an airplane without any human explanation, who knows, with a little imagination, they may have made a god out of the lighter, because they could not "explain it", and it came from the sky.

As science progresses, so does the understanding of prior unexplained phenomena and answers to unanswered questions.

Can't we just be happy for the little girl and her parents without throwing in a christian miracle belief commercial?

@richardj7 - 

you have got to be kidding me!!! I have been happy for the little Julia, and said so in my post, but Gary had previously used this situation to test whether prayer worked. I just posted an actual verified miracle as a result of prayer, which has been on all of the major news outlets about a woman who came back to life. I guess this woman came back to life as you would put it because of her EGO!!! Doctors have said they had nothing to do with it, and that it was an unexplained miracle. Will you believe God when you see Him face to face?

Here is a link to the news story about the tornado and our friends

http://www.9news.com/video/player.aspx?aid=53815&bw=

Here's an interesting "scientific" fact: "A respiratory machine kept her breathing and rigor mortis had set in, doctors said." Rigor Mortis does not "set in" when a body is kept artificially alive. As long as the heart is pumping, and the lungs made to breathe, blood flows through the body, and apart from bed sores, there is some rigor, but no mortis, even though the brain continues to flat-line.

When "Doctors are calling Val Thomas a medical miracle. They said they can't explain how she is alive." So, when something cannot be explained, it's a miracle? What cannot be explained NOW, is not necessarily a miracle.

You may be interested in this:
http://www.amazon.com/Life-Light-Possible-Scientist-Experiences/dp/1905570058
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3236118.stm

A miracle? Mind over matter? Absolute control over the body? Probably. A miracle? Not likely. It may explain the jewish manna (in the Bible) the substance miraculously supplied as food to the Israelites in the wilderness (Exod. 16). Prana (in Hinduism) referred as breath, considered as a life-giving force. Some yogis claim that a particular gland situated behind the palate can produce nectar that can feed the body. Could that be the manna? Or was it a humongous cloud of grasshoppers that got transported by wind in the desert?

"I know God has something in store for me, another purpose. I don't know what it is but I'm sure he'll tell me," she said.

No, probably she did not "come back" because of her ego, although if she claims that she came back "for a purpose", then ego will have something to do with it. When this woman started showing recordable signs of life, and she came back to consciousness, her ego had to manifest itself again to express herself. There is no visual, auditory, or kinesthetic expression without ego. There is no consciousness without ego. No personality without ego. Even in dreams, there is a form of ego. As soon as you can say "I" or that you are aware of who you are - your identity - then ego is present. When ego is present, rationalization is alive and kicking. Rationalization is ego food.

How is belief created? Through the mind. When you sleep are you aware of your beliefs? No. You pick 'em up again when you awaken. Your mental hard drive boots up, and your memories become available again.

There are two ways your ego dies: you die physically or you shut your mind off - ABSOLUTE QUIET, NO MORE THINKING, COMPARING, JUDGING, ME-YOU-THEY. - RATIONALIZATION - ALL GONE! It's referred to in the Bible as "I die daily" - beyond deep meditation or other means of shutting mental activity down. Praying is not being quiet. Praying is asking, placing an order, hoping for a delivery. If it happens, there’s a reason. If it does not happen, there’s a reason - rationalization - ego food.

Belief is an ego thing. As soon as you say "I" "believe in such in such", you're in the ego world of duality: you are a witness (the person observing) to something (what is being observed outside of you or in your mind). Best advice from the Bible: "Let thine eye be single", meaning, go beyond ego duality into unicity - not WITH God (God and you = duality), but merged with something that cannot be described with words, into some kind of unicity that cannot be experienced consciously, but spiritually for use of a better word, although incomplete in its meaning.

As an analogy, a cube of sugar does not know it is sweet. It is a bunch of molecules. Period. It takes a witness (a tongue, and some interpretation of what sweetness is) to know that it is sweet, compared to salt. So, if God is sugar, for example, as long as you can taste sugar, you are not the sugar, nor "one with God". Make any sense?

So, coming face to face with God is not really possible, because in union or unicity with God, there is no longer a witness of God and a God - or a face in front of another face, or a face to face. One with God, is simply that. There is no more witnessing of it. All witnessing BEFORE THAT happens or AFTER IT happens, is pure conjecture and prone to human interpretation, which contains many wives’ tales, delusions and fantasies. Mind you, all these beliefs do not prevent you from feeling good and finding some meaning in your life. Better believe in something that makes you feel good, than the contrary. However, it has little to do with being one with God.

If there is any “face to face”, it will be with your own self. You probably will be your own prosecutor, defense lawyer, witnesses, jury and judge, before you mind finally shuts down. However, if you “awaken” before that happens, you will realize how futile all that game was.

The word "religion" comes from the latin "religare" or "to bind". True religion should be strong enough to bind all people. It's not happening. They all claim that they hold the "truth". They all claim that you should believe in their dogma to be "saved". Find the error.

If anything, our exchanges probably provide entertainment to our readers. A bunch of egos coming together to prove who is “right”…:) Of course, as long as we use words to describe anything, none of us are "right". It's just philosophy.

Here is the story from the day that Julia got her heart.  I didn't have time to post it earlier. 

http://cw2.trb.com/video/?clipId=2493280&topVideoCatNo=74634&c=&autoStart=true&activePane=info&LaunchPageAdTag=homepage&clipFormat=

Rebecca

Make sure to add the = sign at the end of the link or the video doesn't work.  I don't know why it didn't link the whole address.

@richardj7 - 

So let's see a woman has no brainwave activity for 17 hours, no pulse for hours, no breathing machine for over 10 minutes, she was already in rigor mortis, then she comes back to life. The only reason she was even on the breathing machine was for legal reasons, she was already pronounced dead. Hmmmmm, sounds like a miracle to me. Now she has no brain damage whatsoever, no heart damage whatsoever, no heart blockages whatsoever. This a miracle and I don't know anyone who wouldn't consider something like this a miracle.

This year something is happening, as we are witnessing earthquakes all over the world, tornadoes, etc... Now, the raising of people from the dead. The Bible prophesied that in the last days that this would happen.

So, you want another person that was raised from the dead? Read this:

South Florida man raised from the dead

@heartfeltphoto - 

Awesome, I'm so glad that your daughter is home. I hope that she has a long and healthy life. What did she say about being on tv?

If she's on a machine - waiting to possibly donate an organ - her blood is circulating and CANNOT be in rigor mortis. She cannot have brain damage if she's on the machine as blood is circulating in her brain, also. Same thing for the heart that is beating. Thousands of people have been kept years in a coma, and have come out of it, without linking religion to it. You know at least a person who does not consider that a miracle...me...:)

We are witnessing earthquakes, tornadoes, etc. all over the world because of climatic changes, and we have better news reporting than a century ago. They did not have Internet and CNN to report every minute detail. Earth goes through cycles. We happen to be here while it's happening. It happened before, and we did not know about it, because we were not there. However, there is some recorded history about it. Just make a small research, and you will find it.

Bible prophecies have always existed in every century with people trying to link bad interpretations of the Bible with world events, especially close to the end of a century or the beginning of another. Read about it. There are plenty of people claiming that "the end is near..." A bit like trying to link meaning to Nostradamus' quatrains. Putting meaning after the fact, but being unable to accurately predict what they really mean. 2012 will be an interesting year to see what will really happen, as some people claim the end of the Aztec calendar, and a whole bunch of changes. Myth? We'll see...

The Apocalypse is the most wrongly interpreted portion of the Bible. It has nothing to do with external events, but with what the body, mind, and soul go through inside a person. St-John had to use words that would have meaning in his time, only to other disciples, and because of persecution had to be careful on how he wrote it. The whole section is about his personal journey into Silence and union with God. Everything is inside you, and happening inside you. Outside, is just a pale reflection of what is deep inside.

Have a nice day!

@richardj7 - 

did you even read the story? Val Thomas wasn't on a machine for over 10 minutes. Without oxygen for even that period of time the brain would be damaged wouldn't it? The story said she was in rigor mortis, because that is what doctors and nurses witnessed. There is a difference between a coma and being brain dead, this woman was declared brain dead, because she had absolutely no brainwave activity for over 17 hours. Explain why she never had any brainwave activity for over 17 hours, and how she could still be alive without any brainwave activity whatsoever.

That's great!  I'm glad to learn she is doing well.  :)

richard, we get it - you can explain everything.

tim, we get it - you want everyone to see that God does do miracles.

why though, seriously, do we HAVE to do that EVERY TIME a post about julia comes up? this blows my mind. tim, relax man. imagine being one of the 12, 70 or 120 people that Jesus sent out to get things done for the kingdom in the bible. do you REALLY think they'd be spending time arguing with someone who ALREADY SAID they don't believe something, online, by sending articles, and rebutting back and forth? you may think so....i think not.

dude. do me (the person who flipping flew out) and everyone else a favor, and let julia and her tremendous family have some dang breathing room. gary said on many occasions that he was NOT going to use this situation as a "litmus test" so there was NO reason to post that article here to "verify" that miracles happen. i feel like i've said this 4 billion times already but most christians feel like they have to "defend the fort" so they just keep rambling on and on, but: i prayed, she didn't get anything this time. it's over. she's now the recipient of a brand new heart....not to mention rebecca is showing much more restraint than almost ANYONE else by not involving herself with this crap...and all we can do is go back to talking about miracles and whether they work.

tim, i know about this story. i love it. it's one of many i have saved and researched to see what really happened and if this was legit or not. it seems as though it is. so what? post this somewhere else. another day. when it's not about julia. the time has passed. we can now be of MUCH more help by encouraging, supporting and yes, even still praying for the renz family - but whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy do we still have to try to prove that something that didn't happen in this situation, still happens in others? i told everyone on that trip that i had seen these types of things happen many times. i've said since that i've seen them happen afterwards. but pasting links to articles is, just like gary says...hearsay. i'm glad it's documented, i'm glad people are seeing God do some cool stuff in america...but come the heck on, man. let julia have some peace and quiet on this blog. sheeesh.

someone called most of the christians on this blog "stubborn" and i have to agree. and no, that's not a good type of stubborn, either. it's a heard-nosed stubborn. like, "i don't care to think about other people or give them room to breathe - i just want to keep talking because maybe then they'll see that i'm right" type of stubborn.

dude, this goes for everyone. pick up your bibles, read acts, read the gospels, look at what Jesus told his disciples to do (not healing the sick only, but helping the poor and taking care of the widows equally) and then hit the streets with that revelation. go to walmart, or kmart, or your local mall and start hitting people up. find someone who looks depressed, or beat up, or sick, or has a cast. ask them what happened and then ask if you can pray for them. see if God does a miracle. don't be afraid to ask them how they feel after you're done. then see how you can help them in the physical. ask if they need anything. a ride? some cash?

do something with your faith. everyone. then defending it all the time on a blog isn't as important. especially to people (some, not all) who are plainly saying "no, i don't believe that". why are you still talking then? they told you. they don't believe that. move on. get out and do something in YOUR TOWN. that's where you live. not online.

this is the whole reason this situation happened in the first place. i was used to praying for people. i want to take care of people. love people. i had seen God do some things, and the only thing i thought i could offer the renz family was prayer, in person, like Jesus taught and like i had seen many times before. this whole thing came up because (and pardon my horn-tooting, that's not what this is) i actually offered to do something for someone. not because i posted an article or told a story but because i offered to do something.

is posting articles okay? sure. but not in place of going out and doing "the stuff" yourself. to random strangers. and random places.

the bottom line - chillax on the God promotion in relationship to this story. for once....heaven forbid that ONCE....we could hear about julia and be happy for her and send the family encouraging remarks.

the prayer for miraculous healing is over. we tried. deal with that...seek God about that. talk to Him about it. i did, and i got answers. did i come BLASTING back here with those answers feeling like i needed God's name to be righted! no. because He's God...He's supposed to have a pretty good PR firm, and that's me and you. we do our job best by getting our hands dirty and loving people, real people, right in our own backyards. richard said he doesn't care to think differently about this story...respect him. go look for a sad neighbor to pray for. to help.

alright, i'm done. discouraging, man.

Well put shotshot. Thank you.

@shotshot - 

I never meant for this to come to this on this blog post, I just thought it was great that such a wonderful miracle happened this week here in West Virginia where I live. This whole story with Julia became about whether miracles really do happen. I don't know why Julia wasn't miraculously healed when you prayed for her, but just because she wasn't miraculously healed doesn't mean that God hasn't worked in this situation. I've decided that I'm not going to post here anymore. It's true that God doesn't need me to defend Him, but we as Christians are told to tell the good news of Jesus Christ.

I'm sorry if I have offended anyone by posting the story of Val Thomas. It has never been my intention to hurt or offend anyone with my posts.

Thank you Gary for the opportunity you gave me and other people to express our opinions on different subjects, I truly wish you and everyone here the best on life's journey.

tim, for the record - i like you. you seem like a cool guy.

those of us who are christians just need to learn that we don't always have to be so brash with continuous "see, it really does happen" comments. honestly, you learn the most from people who just know what they believe, and how what they believe has demonstrated itself in THEIR lives. not by listing facts or sharing third party stories. i understand the drive and the heart to do this stuff, but it just brings it into a realm where all anyone has are their arguments - and that's just dumb.

plus, you spend a whole lot less time talking (or typing) when you can just say "well, here's what i saw - and it went down like this. you're welcome do not believe me, but i was there". that's the best type of talk, the kind that comes from experience.

if you got a group of people in a room who all disagreed, and the only thing any of them were allowed to talk about was what they had seen, heard, felt or tasted....themselves....the outcome would be pretty rad. everyone would learn something and i'll tell you right now...THAT is where minds are made up. all the way around.

just my opinion though...again. remember...seasoned with salt. seasoned.

@shotshot - 

in reply to your post, the story I gave about Val Thomas was not a third party account of the story, but actual video from the actual witnesses, including one of the top doctors, so it was not hearsay. I agree that we should live Matthew 22:37 first. I'm sorry, but I'm very passionate about my relationship and love for God. I have witnessed and experienced many miracles in my life including in 1976 when God raised me from the dead, and I want to tell everyone how great God is.

What I have witnessed here is that when Christians give thanks to God, or post scripture they are put down. Not by Gary, but by a few who think they are of higher intelligence then the rest of us, they even seem to think we Christians can't even interpret the Bible correctly. Being I'm a Christian it's true that I want to evangelize the world, I want to see lost souls saved into the Kingdom of God, and I want others to experience the wonderful presence of God like I have. I never intended to get into a debate on this post with anyone, all I did was post about a wonderful miracle that happened to someone from my state. Richard immediately made every effort to discredit it as a miracle, which obviously caused me to fire back. I'm sorry for doing that, but I have a passion for God. You don't know what I do for God, my wife and I both lead worship in our church, and we give and minister to the poor, and much more. So, I'm not just posting on this site.

Nate I like you too, and applauded your going to Colorado and praying for Julia.

I realized that it truly is a waste of my time to post here anymore, but I wanted to at least let everyone know where I was coming from. So, Richard and Frank I hope you someday will find the truth.

I understand your passion, and your need to share your beliefs. I am not of higher intelligence than the "rest of you"...:) However, TRUTH cannot be found. You cannot find something you have not lost. It was never "lost", just the thinking that it was. And we know where thinking leads us. TRUTH IS. God is not outside of you. You are in Him, and you are of Him. Everyone is, without exception.

Let the mind find peace and quiet, beyond beliefs, and you will realize that TRUTH was there all the time, just waiting for you to wake up to the fact. Continue helping people with action for their daily needs. That's very gracious of you. Selfless giving should not be an occasion to promote a religion. The very thought of considering other people like "lost souls" makes me shudder. Who on earth can really be a judge of that? It makes me think of that fateful Bush quote: "Either you're with us, or you're against us." Whoa! What arrogance!

As far as interpretations of the Bible, there are many, mostly because of numerous (bad) translations, editing, and censorship throughout centuries. Which ones are right? That's where dissention originates from. Investigate just a little bit, with an open-mind, you will see how and why it was done, and how many inconsistencies there are. Or else, continue cherry-picking what supports your views. We all do that. Just recognize that you do it, too...:)

The good news is, though, whichever path you choose, you'll end up where you need to BE.