In January 2001 I asked the Lord to take me to a place of peace and quietness for my personal restoration. I needed to find a place of solitude for spiritual guidance. As I humbled myself before the Lord praying, writing and asking questions, the Holy Spirit began working in my life. There is great power in choosing to surrender completely to God in the midst of suffering or difficulties in our lives. I asked God for His gracious love to awaken my spiritual passion. Christ calls us to come to Him when we are tired, and to find hope when we are discouraged as I was. My failures and weaknesses had discouraged me. I needed a life changing hope. I found hope in God, which was independent of my hopes, that He would work in a particular way through me. I realized my hope in Him was secure even though life was not. And I remembered Psalm 71:14 "But as for me, I will always have hope." I always looked at my life and was thankful that God had blessed me by being a proud mother, grandmother and for having a wonderful husband who supports me in all that I do. However, the question that kept coming to my mind was, "What is my purpose in life?" I knew somehow I could serve God in my own special way even though I am not a preacher, a teacher or a public speaker. God states in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future", and I took comfort in this verse. As the days turned into months, I called out, "Oh, God, will You answer me? Please give ear to me and hear my prayer." And God did again and again showing me the wonders of His love. On March 30, 2001, I went to buy a card for a friend who had cancer, but I couldn't find a card that appealed to me. There were hundreds of cards, but I left without making a purchase. After leaving the card store, I had to drive over an overpass and on that bridge, the most awesome blessing happened to me. God spoke to me in a whisper, but in my thoughts it was as if the whole world had heard it! He said, "Wouldn't it be a wonderful idea to have 'A Scripture Talking Card'T?" My heart was beating fast, I was crying and I could hardly catch my breath. I couldn't get home fast enough to tell my husband, Ross, and call my son, Jonathan. When I arrived home, Ross was on the internet and crying I asked, "What do you think about 'A Scripture Talking Card'T?" "That's a great idea!" he replied. "Is it out there?" "God spoke to me and said those exact words", I answered. My husband then said, "Sylvia, that is your Gift from God!" I knew then that in order to "hear the voice" I had to be willing to turn around and listen. My life became like a radio dial with signals coming from all directions to the tune of God's voice. His voice was loud and clear even in a whisper. Right away we thanked God for THE GIFT. We prayed for guidance we prayed for His footprints to carry us through, we prayed for direction not to let God down, and we prayed for Christian attorneys to help pave the way. Day in and day out God's voice was everywhere, working in our minds, taking us through this spiritual journey, and reminding us to live and work by faith. I had "A Scripture Talking Card"T in my mind, but I needed to bring my vision to life. My hand and God's Hands worked together in making this prototype card. Each day on our way to work, God began working through my husband and me. It was as if we were both having the identical vision about this beautiful trademark. Our trademark is, "ANGEL EXPRESS ® ." It consists of a young angel coming out of heaven on horseback to deliver scripture talking cards. Angels to me are messengers, glorious guardians, and bearers of blessings. This angel is smiling, happy to spread the news. In the brown ANGEL EXPRESS ® bag, he carries the cards. The sky is a beautiful blue and white, just as I saw it on the day that THE GIFT was given to me. There are twelve stars on the bridle representing the twelve Disciples. The halo shines with hope and heaven's power lifts the angel's wings. Many who have seen these cards say that it touches their spiritual senses. Thank you for letting me share my testimony. May you too be blessed by God and share it with others. My prayer is for all of us to become ambassadors for Christ and one day citizens in heaven. Sylvia Dean Stephens-D'Angelo http://www.angelexpress.com |