iona's blog

It's a journal. It's a devotional. It's a record of a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) survivor. It's documentation of God's activities in real time. There are good days and bad, happy times and sad... I tell it like it is. This is an unscripted walk along the meandering paths of my mind. My life has never been dull... and I've never known boredom. Read on, you'll see...

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Name: Iona Hoeppner
Location: Davenport, Florida, United States

I am a happily married mother and grandmother of a large family. I've also had several careers including writer, teacher, trucker, investment and finance advisor, web master and artist. I am an ordained minister (I feel called to people, not to the pulpit) and consider my calling to Christ's service my most important role in life.

Monday, September 07, 2009

Mama Iona's Cuisine Italliano

I love to cook. Sometimes I am quite good at it... and then there are other times I’d rather not get into right now. Today was a good one. I craved Italian food but my sausage was not “Italian,” and I forgot I had roma tomatoes until after we had eaten.


So, we had a whole wheat fettucini, boiled to tenderness (al dente in whole wheat pasta is awful!) and tossed with a tad of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil).


The sauce included sausage, canned mini-diced tomatoes with garlic and olive oil, onions (sauteed with the meat), tomato paste, cheeses (pecorino romano, ricotta, parmesan, provolone, mozzarella), garlic, marjoram, oregano, fennel seed, rosemary and sea salt.


We also had a nice focaccia topped with fresh fennel, sun-dried tomatoes, olives and a garlic butter rub. Hot out of the oven, the outside was very crusty and the inside robustly chewy.


It was a great meal! I wish I had invited folks over.

Sunday, September 06, 2009

Westside Baptist

I went to Westside Baptist today. So, I have found yet another good church in our area as I seek God’s face on where we should find our church home.


Westside reminded me a lot of First Baptist in Galt, CA , our beloved home church while we were in California. I miss that sweet church family!


I long to find the place the Lord wants us to settle into, but I am still waiting for His leading. I know from experience that He will make His will known when He is ready and it could just as easily be the very first church I attended or one I have not yet been led to.


I also now have a peace about the Holy Spirit’s leading us to The Vine even though later we would find a difference in references to Christ that is so great we could not stay. I asked God several times why we were led there (and I am sure we were) only to have to leave after falling in love with all those precious people.


Of course, my answer was in my question. Being at The Vine enabled us to bless and be blessed by many folks we would otherwise not have known and loved. Also, I was honored to have helped set up a prayer program and it will continue to grow because God is the author and finisher.


Still, I miss them. I feel like a spiritual nomad.

Saturday, September 05, 2009

Miracles!

My focus today at the Holy Land Experience was to pray over the facility, staff and leadership. I also prayed with guests and staff as the Lord led. It was to be a short day for me. I needed to leave early to meet Richard who was getting off work at three.


When I reached for my phone to check where to meet Richard, the phone was gone. When searching my purse produced nothing, I headed for Customer Service. No phone. Next, I checked the car although I was sure I had silenced the phone as I entered the park.


I was praying all the while as I went back to check the restrooms and other places I had visited. Of course, since I had spent the day praying over the whole facility, I had been in all the public and some of the restricted areas.


As I always do, I asked someone to hold my tallit while I went in to search in the Scriptorium restroom. No phone. When I came out, the woman was holding my tallit with such reverence. How blessed I was, so blessed, we got into a deep conversation about the Lord and the tallit. Soon God drew in others and we were all blessed. We had a time of prayer and I told them I would let God worry about my iPhone before heading on my way.


Next, a tall man named Pastor Scott saw my Prayer Partner badge and grabbed me to pray a blessing over me. His wife said something and I indicated I didn’t hear her. Pastor Scott asked which ear and I responded, “both.” He and his wife offered a powerful, faith-filled prayer that my hears would be opened. The noise level rose immediately and still continues. Even now, I hear the dog panting from across the room. I even hear traffic from our sun room! I still have problems understanding because my brain is not used to listening to speech well.


I was excited over my hearing and was heading out of the park when God gave me an urgency to go clear back across the park to the Jerusalem Model. Frankly, by then, I didn’t expect to find my phone today. I figured after the park closed, someone might get it up to Guest Services, or call me at Richard’s number, or maybe I would never get my phone back. So when I asked my friend at the sales counter about the phone, he had a lot of fun with me. Asking me all sorts of questions about the phone and about me, LOL By then, I was already praising God for returning my iPhone to me! I pray a special blessing on the person who turned that expensive phone in.


The rest of the day was also glorious. Richard and I went to Hollywood Studios where we ate at Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano. We are loosely trying to dine at each Disney venue, and this was our first time here. Very good flatbread pizza.


A day of Miracles as God showers me with blessings!

Friday, September 04, 2009

Fantastic Day

There was a Prayer Partner meeting at HLE this morning. my first such meeting. It was a wonderful time of prayer over the guests’ request, TBN and HLE staff and leadership, our nation and the world and it was also a time of meeting other prayer partners which I rarely see. What a special get together the Lord with we had!


Next, I had Bible Class at the Kissimmee Library. Trouble is, even with the Garmin GPS system, I could not find the Library! I had the same problem last week. I called Sally and said, “You know that library we ment in last week? Well, they moved it.”


We started late but had revealing study of Revelation 19.... what we’ve all waited for so long to see! The King of Kings! The Lord of Lords! It’s a good read, even if you aren’t a believer... but when you know the Author, it’s mind-blowing!!

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Sports Fan iona

I do not do sports and never have cared to even watch... My kids all know that it was nothing but pure love that sent me to their games... BUT, I read this article ( http://tinyurl.com/mmdw9p ) and loved it and have chosen a sports team to become a fan of, the Golden State Warriors. My family will not believe this! teehee


I wonder what the response would be if churches took up this level of promotion and attraction of “fans” for Jesus Christ. Can you just picture the heat? The press would condemn it as... Well, you get the idea, but consider individually promoting the Savior. You won’t need any hype. Everything amazing about Him is really true. Just spread the Good News with joy and conviction and love... that’s what the Great Commission really is, after all.

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

In Sync

When my Mac was so ill, losing its hard drive, then suffering some sort of stroke, it jumbled the info in my address book (and elsewhere), so when I bought the new MacBook Pro, I also signed up for Mobile Me to help me keep everything in sync.


That’s a great idea, but you better have you address book info straight before you sync with 2 computers and an iPhone plus a hardcopy address book! So, I spent the day working on that. It will take a number of days to finish.


And my day was like this...

  • 10:26 is synching old address book in my planner, iPhone, gmail and old Mac's address book that got totally scrambled during its death throes. #t.gif

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Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Our Ends Meeting

I spent much of the morning taking care of financial things, paying bills, etc. and praising God there is enough. The afternoon was filled with small household chores.


Praise God for enough to pay bills, enough to meet the needs of each day. Thank God I can go about keeping my house without worrying that a terrorist may blow it up or the government may drag me to be tortured because I might not approve of some policy or politician.


God is making all ends meet for us.


And my day was like this...

  • 11:16 has all bills paid and personal bookkeeping up to date!! Thank You, Jesus for providing. #t.gif

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