Submitted by Karen Shupe from Martinsville, VA

How do you thank God for all the blessings He bestows on your life? So many times He’s answered prayers I’ve thought were impossible. A simple “Thank You” is so inadequate. Let me share a few of the miracles He has performed in my life.
Raised in the Church of God since birth, prayer has been as easy as breathing and having faith for others to receive blessings was simple but having faith for a need in your own life is another story. At age 17 I was informed by a doctor in Montana that I would never have children of my own. I had endometriosis and it was getting worse. His suggestion was for me, a single girl of 17 to try to get pregnant then and hopefully during the 9 months of pregnancy, the disease would go away. I couldn’t believe that suggestion and told him my God would heal me after I had married if it was His will for me to give birth to my own children or I would adopt and my husband and I would give a loving home to a child that needed us. I married at age 21 and 6 months later became pregnant with our son Jason, now age 27 and tremendously anointed of God. Our daughter Danielle came 6 years later, through a struggle of surgeries, medications, fertility drugs etc. I had given up hope to conceive and had adoption papers in my hand. I asked my husband to sign them and he said “is this what you really want?’ I broke down crying saying that I really wanted a daughter of my own making so he told me to tear up the papers. It was 2 weeks later I went to Dr. Marshall. He was a Christian doctor and prayed with me that first visit to have the desire of my heart. Two months later (two days before Christmas) he informed me that I was expecting. All throughout the pregnancy he’d tell me, “let’s see how our little girl is doing.” She just turned 21 last month, is married to an Air Force Staff Sergeant and both are serving the Lord. I’ll Praise God forever for my miracles!!!
Another miracle was when I had a physical and my blood count had dropped so dramatically that the doctor was sure I was bleeding out from some unknown source. I had upper and lower gastric testing while the doctor searched for cancer. My church and my family refused to believe it and every test came back negative. Through prayers and fasting by them all throughout my tests the next time they checked my blood it had gone over the normal amount and has not been low since….fifteen years later. Thank You God!
I could go on for a long time of the fevered brows of my children that became cool as my husband and I prayed for them. The greatest test of our faith came when our son was 3 ½ years old. He developed pneumonia on his right lung and almost died from it. After 5 days in our local hospital and fevers of 105 degrees (which left him delirious) he was transferred to Baptist Hospital in Winston Salem, NC. They did not pull any punches with us. When we arrived his skin color was grey and they told us we could loose him. I still can’t remember parts of the ordeal because I was so in shock at the possibility of loosing the miracle child God had given me. My father who is now pastor of my church came the first night forcing us to go to a hotel to sleep while he sat up all night reading the word of God to Jason, our son and praying over him. Churches all over were fasting and praying for him but it wasn’t until my husband and I in our private prayer time (almost at the same hour) prayed to God that He had given him to us and we had dedicated him back to God when he was 3 weeks old. We prayed that if Jason was not going to grow up to serve him and would end up spending eternity in hell we’d rather that He take him then. This was a hard prayer to pray but it came from the sincerity of our hearts. It was the next day that he took a turn for the better and steadily improved. We then told each other what we’d prayed and found that God had rewarded our sincerity. Jason left the hospital declaring he had to be a preacher. He followed that desire and is now the associate pastor of our church.
One of the most recent trials of my faith concerned passing an important exit exam from Old Dominion University, Norfolk Va. I am a teacher in Special Education and had passed all my courses to receive my Master’s Degree in Special Education but had to pass the “comp” exam in order to graduate and receive my diploma. I began preparing to take them in January of 2005, testing in March, waited 6 weeks for the results that arrived in  May, the week before graduation. I had missed two answers by 1 point each. They invited me to go on and march at graduation and retest in June. I walked in faith, prepared by studying in May and June and tested again on the 25th of June. Six weeks of waiting again found that I had this time missed 3 questions by 1 point each. I was so tired and distraught by this time I went into a deep depression that scared me, my family, and church. I had given all I had into this time of study and testing and had depleted my spirit completely. God so wonderfully delivered me at a powerful church service in middle August. He filled my empty spirit. I was given one more chance to complete the answers without the limited testing time I’d had the other times. Praise God this time I passed!!! It wasn’t until the last of August that I knew. Nine months of my life was spent obsessed over study, testing, and awaiting answers from the school. I will receive my diploma anytime now and plan to use the degree to open a Christian daycare, school, and after school program for public education students. I have just entered a new Master’s program through Radford University that will make me a Virginia licensed school principal. This will take 2 years but I feel God is going to get the daycare and after school program going before that.
You know there is a new song by Natalie Grant called Held that speaks so well to the trials we will face. The chorus says that in those times of trial we’ll know what it is to be held by God. We were never promised a life of ease when we become Christians, just that He’d be there and would hold us when the load gets to hard to bear. I pray for all of you who read my testimony………….may it build your faith and may you be encouraged that even thought life throws different blows God is faithful to deliver us through them all!!! May God Bless You!

The devil didn’t want me to come into this world, but God had other plans.  When my mother was pregnant with me, she started hemorrhaging and had to go into the hospital.  After being there for several days, the doctor came in and told her that, she may as well go home because she had lost too much blood to have a baby.  There were two Christian ladies who came to her room and told her, if she would dedicate her baby to the Lord, that they would pray with her and she would have this baby.  She did, and here I am fifty years later.  The devil tried to get rid of me again, at the age of 9 or 10.  At that time, I had 2 older sisters and 1 older brother.  We were playing train and I was the caboose.  We were running through the house like a train on the track.  Someone broke loose and everybody ended up piled on top of me.  It knocked the breath out of me and mom had to give me CPR.  I was revived again.  There is a reason for my being here.  I haven’t quite figured it all out yet, but I trust God.  If I can help only one person in my journey, it is worth it all.  I pray I have helped more and will continue to. I was raised in Church from infancy.  I have watched my mother pray fevers off her children and trust in God for everything.  I know He is real and I know he lives inside my heart.  I wouldn’t want to go through a day without Him.  He has proven Himself to my family, and me over and over again.  I have not always served Him. I have forsaken Him many times but He had mercy on me and pulled me back.  I cannot Praise Him enough for that.  The Bible says to train your child up in the way of God and they will not depart from it.  This means they will always come back to God, if they stray.  This is very true.  I am proof of that.  I have been blessed with a wonderful husband and 3 wonderful children.  My daughter is married to a good man and they are saved and in church and bringing their children up to know God.  My sons are not presently serving God, but they will.  God’s word says that if I will serve Him that He will save my household, and I believe His word.

In 1992, I found my home at The Upper Room Worship Center.  The Lord actually told me to get up from where I was at that time and go visit this Church.  I was in church at the time He spoke to me.  I got up at that very moment and visited and have been there ever since.  If you are looking for a church where you can be free to worship, come visit us.  All the people here are very loving and will welcome you with open arms.  All the young people here are on fire for God.   The True Word of God is always preached here. God is in the house.  Each service that we have gets more intense. I praise God for what He has done and for the Great things that He is going to do.  If you want to be truly happy in life, Jesus is you’re answer.

Ronnie and I moved to Stokesdale, NC a couple of years ago due to job situations. We had all intentions of finding a church there locally to call home. We visited several churches and really enjoyed some of them, even got scared at a few. (HA!) It seemed like every Sunday we got a little more discouraged because we just could not find a church that BOTH of us felt at home. I might have really liked one and then Ronnie would not or vice versa. We ended up going to church at the Upper Room for a few Sundays because we needed to be somewhere we KNEW God was. We were no strangers there, we were married in this church and attended for a while. No intentions on making URWC our home church, just visiting. Well, God had other plans for us. We have been there since September 2003. I do love this church and my church family. Everyone is so nice and caring. We drive 45 minutes to church and then 45 minutes back home. The drive gets very hard on us at times, but it has been so rewarding. We have so many reasons to call this church home.  #1 GOD IS IN THE HOUSE!!!  From the time you walk through the door you can feel his presence so strong. There are many churches where you do not feel the Lord. Here you never have to worry about that.  #2 OUR TEENAGERS!!! My husband is the youth director here and I am fortunate enough to be able to help him in this area. I love each of these teenagers so much. They bring me so much joy, I could never express to them how much happiness they bring to Ronnie and me. (Ronnie enjoys teen ministry so much, he goes for his testing to be a minister in January so he may be able to do this more.) Our trip to Myrtle Beach was so unforgettable. The teens worked so hard to get prepared and 18 (teenage) souls were won over to God's kingdom that trip. PRAISE GOD!!!!  #3 THE LOVE!!!  We receive so much love from everyone. Our pastors are wonderful. They teach the Bible and God's word the way it should be taught and preached. The congregation is wonderful and will help out in any way they possibly can.  #4 THE MUSIC!!!  Jennifer is so awesome. With work, my website designing, and my online volunteer work I stay on the internet a whole lot. I have been to many church websites that have thousands and thousands of people at those churches and the music CANNOT even compare to ours. I know the Lord has blessed Jennifer and anointed her. God uses her every time she plays to usher in the Lord's presence, and sometimes it simply pours with His presence.   I could go on and on with reasons we attend the URWC but these are the ones right off the top of my head. Please if you are looking for a home church come and visit us. We would love to have you!!!!!

On June 5 our Associate Pastor had a healing service about standing on the word of God. I have great faith and God has healed me several times before so I decided to ask God for my healing. My doctor had put me on thyroid medicine about 12 years ago. He said that I would have to be on this the rest of my life because my thyroid was not working properly. He also told me that I was anemic and that I needed to take 3 iron tablets a day because I could not keep it high enough without the pills. So when the Associate Pastor said to stand on the Lord's word -- I did !!  It has been almost 3 months and I haven't had the first pill of any kind.  I feel great!!  Before when I started taking the medicine I was very tired, weak, and sleepy. I could fall asleep sitting or even standing. I ran out of energy very quickly.  NOW -- since the prayers and the standing on the word -- I FEEL GREAT!!!! God has healed me -- Praise the Lord!!!!  Thank you Jesus.  I'm not sleepy and have energy like when I was young.  Thank you dear Lord!!!  I can not thank him enough. He is a GREAT and AWESOME God!! Praise the Lord!!  I give God all the praise and glory for healing me.     If you have faith the size of a mustard seed you can ALSO receive your healing from the Lord!!!

I just want to thank God for what He is doing in and through the youth of the Upper Room. It has been on rare occasions that I have seen teens so alive and on fire for Jesus. I'm proud of them and I know God has a plan for each of them. I believe God is raising up a generation of youth who will not be ashamed of Him or His Gospel, who will be the church of tomorrow, and I believe the youth of the Upper Room are right in the center of what God is doing! To hear the wonderful testimonies of salvation of lost souls (from their recent mission trip to Myrtle Beach) and to see the way they participate in services, the way they sincerely worship and seek the Lord just confirms it! God is moving on the youth of the Upper Room! Thank God for teens and youth who are real Christians, who are dedicated to His work and will! God bless them all and keep them as they continue on for Him! 

I could never thank the Lord for all he has done for me in all my life. I ask Jesus in my heart and to forgive me of my sins when I was 9 years old. He did and I always believed his word and read the Bible. When I got married I was 17 and my husband was 18. He is such a wonderful man. I had my first child at 19, my second at 22, and my third at 23. The Lord was watching over me because I had some hard times. 6 months after my little girl was born I lost 6 pints of blood and had very high blood pressure, but the Lord saw me through. My husband became a minister and we moved to Butte Montana. The Lord provided us with lots of food, clothes, and a very warm house to live in. There were 3 times in my life that I could have been raped, but the Lord kept me safe. The first time I was at home ironing while my children played outside. This man came to the door and said he needed to check my furnace. I told him it was a new house and that it was fine. I could feel evil surrounding him. He insisted on checking it so I had to let him in to get to the basement. He called for me to come down there several times but I would not, I felt evil. I decided that if he tried anything I would hit him with a glass bottle and burn him with the iron. He came back up and looked at me and then the kids outside. I told him that my husband would be home very soon from work, even though I knew it would be a while. I asked the Lord to forgive me because I didn't know what else to do. The man left after I told him that. I just couldn't thank the Lord enough for getting him out.  The second time I had went outside to go down to the basement to do some laundry, came back up and my husband had came home for lunch. He found a man hiding in the bushes right beside the basement. We found out later he had to serve time in jail, so I know the Lord was watching after me. The third time, I had a filing fall out of a tooth. I asked around to who would be a good person to go see. They recommending someone and I went to him. When I got there the only people there was me, my daughter, and the dentist. I went in with the dentist while my daughter waiting in the waiting room. He wanted to give me gas, but I insisted that he did not, for him just to look and I would come back later for the actual work. The reason for this was because he was not making any sense. It was like he was strung out on drugs or something. He went over twice to see if the door was locked and asked me to look into his eyes. Boy was I praying hard for the Lord to get me out of that room, and he provided. I know why the dentist changed his mind, because my good spirit was fighting his evil spirit. My spirit won!!!  3 weeks later a little girl was hurting after she left that same dentist office. Her mother took her to the doctor and found out she had been raped. They went after the dentist and found videos in his office where he had put women and children to sleep and raped them. He ran and when we left for Virginia he still had not been found. Praise be to God that I got away. This all happened in 1975. Thanks be to God, he cares for us so much. He loves us so much!! He died for me to be saved and for you to be saved and to be with him in Heaven.

Submitted by Daniel Graham from Collinsville, VA

My name is Daniel and I have been saved for about eight years now. God delivered me from alcohol abuse, tobacco, and running with the wrong crowd. Early in my walk with God I would’ve considered myself a “benchwarmer”. I didn’t get involved in church services or church functions or groups. I was content just to be saved and attending church on Sunday mornings; I didn’t feel I needed to attend any other times. After awhile, even going on Sunday mornings started to become drudgery. Something seemed to be missing in my Christian walk. I wasn’t enjoying being a Christian like some people. I felt I had to go to church rather than really wanting to go. I didn’t love God the way I should; I had never actually fallen in love with Him. And it didn’t help that I didn’t wholly understand the moving of the Holy Spirit or that I’d never really had a prayer and Bible study routine. Little did I know my wife was praying. You see I had begun to bring her down. I would convince her to “skip” church sometimes and sometimes she would. Before we knew it, I didn’t have to do much convincing, it just became easier and easier to do. And before we knew it, we weren’t living up to Christ’s standards. But, she knew better, having been raised in church. She knew we could not continue this way and she set into praying. First, for God to get a hold of me (as the spiritual leader in our home) and set me on fire for Him, then for that fire to spread to her. At the time we’d also been praying about what church would be God’s will for us to be part of. We visited several churches and then felt led to visit The Upper Room Worship Center. We started visiting just about every Sunday. We didn’t go to Sunday School or Family Training Hour (Wednesday nights) at first. But pretty soon God really began to move in our lives. My wife began to get involved with the music department and we began to attend almost regularly. We could tell God wanted us at The Upper Room, we just weren’t sure why. The next few years would reveal God’s purpose for our lives. One Sunday the Pastor felt led to ask me to join the Praise and Worship Team. Reluctantly, I did. I have never been the same. God Himself set me on fire that Sunday and that fire has never dwindled. Thank God for baptizing me in the Holy Spirit and helping me to establish a prayer life! I have found out the more I give of myself to Him and His work, the more He pours Himself into me. As a result, the past two years have brought many changes in my life. My wife and I were blessed with a baby girl in May 2003. God called us into ministry in 2004 and we are currently undergoing the credentialing process in our denomination. God recently gave me the ability to play the drums and I remain a part of the Praise and Worship Team. I am also an altar worker and a part of our Young Adult Class and Men’s Ministries. I am no longer a “benchwarmer”! I have found all that was missing in my early Christian walk. I have fallen in love with Jesus, I have a greater burden to share the gospel, my soul burns within me for Him! “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”  (Ps. 34:1)

I drive 45 minutes from North Carolina to go to the Upper Room Worship Center. I'm not bragging, I'm telling you that a church where God's spirit is felt every time you open the doors is where I want to be. I'm proud to call the URWC my home church and it's people are my family. Everyone there extends a Christ-like love and compassion for others. The praise and worship team usher in the Lord's presence at the beginning of every service with their anointed singing. And the pastors, in tune with God's spirit, preach the truth. Our children's group is growing and we're beginning exciting new programs for them. It's wonderful to hear my 4-year-old singing Christian songs or repeating something that she has learned at church. And my teenage daughter loves the GET Youth program. My heart rejoices that our teens don't play church, but are actively involved in the worship and the alter time. And they're eager to spread God's word through drama and outreach mission work. This is a church that is on fire and hungry for all the Lord has to give them. I'm proud to be a part of this great church. My 45-minute sacrifice is nothing compared to how the Lord blesses me through the Upper Room Worship Center.