John Amburgey had an interesting, sometimes tragic and tumultuous life. He had a rewarding one as well. This is his story.
After having a life threatening stroke at the age of 58, John is left lying in the hospital bed in Albany, Georgia. You will be taken on a journey through his life from birth until the time that he was brough forty five miles to the hospital, barely surviving the trip.
Walk with him on this journey in life that will have sad outcomes, funny times and in the end inspiration. In the middle of his life, he will find a dramatic change that his thrust him into the life of a minister for the church, but the tragic twists and turn that seemed to emcompass his life would still be there.
See the inside of the Pastor's heart like you have never seen before. Understand what he may go through in life and how, just like you and me, he is a human being. Laugh with him many times, pitty him, and cry with him, but in the end triumph over all that he has endured and Soar with him, like an eagle.
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Excerpt
Preface
Each night it was the same dream: a dark
stairwell, which seemed to never end, winding
always upward with only a round rail to guide him;
he had no clue where it was those stairs and that rail
were leading him or why. No thoughts would
interrupt his journey and no light would come and
show him the steps that he so vigorously traveled
upon, that seemed to have no destination, rhyme or
reason. Each night was step, after step and every
morning he would wake from this dream tired but
he would go about his day. When it came time to go
back to sleep the dream awaited him. He never
welcomed the dream, but he accepted that it would
be there. The same dream, the same round rail, and
the same steps, night after night until one fateful
evening the endless dream finally changed.
It began the same way; walking in the dark while
clinging to the only source of hope he had in the
dark stairwell of endless steps. Then something
unfamiliar happened, he let go of the round rail.
When he realized what he had done, panic set in.
He was frantic in his search for the rail or anything
that would give him a sense of security or calm his
growing panic. He was lost in the darkness with no
hope of escape, searching for safety and finding
none.
He found a rail, but it was different than before.
The round rail that he had become so familiar with
was now replaced with a rail that was shaped like an
octagon. Instead of being smooth and round, the rail
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had many edges. Keeping his hand upon the new
rail, he searched for a moment or two for the
recognizable round rail. He stretched while keeping
one hand on the new rail, his only comfort.
Somehow he knew if he let go of that one, he would
lose his way forever. After a tireless search he gave
up and began to walk up the stairs using the new
rail. With a decipherable trudge he continued to
journey up the winding stairway, that seemed to be
taking him nowhere, just like he had done all those
nights before.
Just when he had begun to settle into his new
environment the light hit him. It was so bright that it
brought him to his knees and caused him pain when
he looked in its direction, yet he continued to squint
into it.
While peering through his hands he saw a man’s
feet and the silhouette of a man holding out his
arms. He continued to cower on his knees trying to
see through the brightness before him. To this he
could only say, “My Lord and my God.”
He awoke from his dream with a gasp. His wife
stirred as he got up from the bed and walked into
the bathroom to begin his day. She asked if he was
all right, but he did not answer. Staring at his own
face in the mirror as the water ran below, he
wondered what the dream meant, and if there was
anyone who could tell him. The only name that
came to his mind was Bob, his brother in law.
He had been talking to Bob quite a bit lately and
Bob had been sharing the Gospel with him. At the
time, John Amburgey was not saved and it was the
constant prayer of his wife and many who cared for
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him that he would soon find his way to the salvation
of Jesus Christ. With all of this in his mind; the
dream, the way it changed suddenly, and all that
Bob had told him, John went to talk with Bob.
Bob was quick to tell him that this dream was a
call by God for him to find salvation and let Christ
Jesus save his soul from an eternal hell. The steps
with the round rail were his life without salvation,
going nowhere and seeming to have no purpose.
The steps with the octagon shaped rail were a new
path, leading him to the light; the saving grace of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The man within
the blinding light was the image of Jesus Christ
Himself. With this vision, the prayers of many, and
the teaching of Bob Allen, John Amburgey, at the
age of thirty-three, turned his life over to the Lord
and became a child of God.
Timeless wisdom and advice on the art of living for today’s young and old: The art of thinking, the art of loving, the art of working, the art of leadership, the art of growing old.
A new translation by Sergio E. Serrano of this inspirationa
In "A Touch of Your Presence" are words that would inspire, encourage and strengthen one's soul when faced with challenges and difficulties and to know the awesomeness of God's power.
These song lyrics and art are tales, tides and twinkling lights - tunes telling stories of warmth and sun, city and sand, paths that lead, and the coins we can keep in the Karma Bank. Spirit's been bypassed for sorrow, dreaming of a better tomorrow .
