Jarrod Jones

Please donate now to WORLD VISION HAITI RELIEF

From World Vision site:

Haiti was struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in January 2010, severely impacting the lives of millions of people. In what was already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, life is a constant struggle for the children of Haiti. But you can help. Thanks to government grants, your gift will triple in impact to provide life-saving food, agricultural support, health care, and other necessities for hungry children and families in Haiti.

Haiti has long suffered the ravages of hunger. And now natural disasters coupled with rising global prices for food and fuel have made it even harder for families to feed their children.

World Vision has been on the ground in Haiti for more than 30 years and is the largest food-providing organization in the country. But we need your help to meet the growing need. A gift from you can help provide essential rations like beans, flour, and cooking oil for Haiti’s most vulnerable. And you can help fund long-term projects providing seeds and tools for farmers, and nutrition classes in which mothers receive practical advice on how to properly care for their young. Thank you for your generous gifts and heartfelt prayers for those who need your help in Haiti.

Also, see article “Does God Hate Haiti?”

My friends this blog is worth the read.

Wednesday (a week ago)

Got poison ivy. Helped my pastor clean up some of his farm property for our Church prayer summit.  After pulling roots and gathering piles of debris he shared a tiny piece of info that would have been incredibly profitable for me 2.5 hours earlier , “By the way,” he says, “watch out for Poison Ivy.”  I looked down at my bare arms and thought “this can’t be good.” 
 

Friday (a week ago)

Two days later. The Grim reaper paid a visit.  My right wrist, hip, chest, and underarm, lit up like red lights on a Christmas tree. And the itching about sent me postal.  But I decided to “man up” about it. I was told three weeks and it would go away. I made it a week and tossed that whole manhood thing to the dogs.
 

Friday (yesterday)  THE DOCTOR!

Went to the Doc-in-a box. Doctor says, “That doesn’t look good.” Me: Nervous laugh.  He points to the quadruple- layer-coated calamine lotion on me. He says, “and that stuff is worthless.”

He continued, “You want to sit there and keep breaking out or do you want to do something about it?” To which I replied, “Ummmm, B. I choose B. Do something about it.”

The Doctor replied, “Good. Got 3 prescriptions that will shred your intestines like iceberg lettuce and a couple of shots that will cripple you for a decade.”

(Okay, he didn’t actually say that).

He left the room. In came the nurse dude. He hands me three pieces of paper with names for drugs that might as well have been heiroglyphics. In about 7.48 seconds he rattles off the details about all three— treatment, dosage, side effects.  Then said “Got any questions?” To which I was too dumbstruck by the two steel sabres (called shots) he held in his right hand to utter any form of human communication.

I sheepishly rolled up my sleeve a bit.  He says, “no, no, no, heh, the shots go in the hips.”  So I assumed the position.  He said,”you’re going to feel a little sting.”  He was a liar.  He should have said, “You’re going to feel a little shotgun blast.”  He stuck me and I jumped.  I said, “whooooa dude.”  Then, awkward silence. 

Next hip. Thankfully he didn’t mention the sting part.  He just stuck me.  And let me tell you, the sting was nothing.  But that medicine spreading through my hip felt like white-hot molten lava fire, man.  It stinkin hurt. I started sweating. I felt woozy. But there was noooo waaay I was going to be that loser guy that couldn’t handle his medicine.

They had a pharmacy located within the Doc-in-the box’s lobby area. I handed over my prescriptions. The pharmacist started asking me questions. Problem was, I couldn’t make out a word he was saying. All I could hear was my heartbeat. And my vision went tunnel.  And sweat was pouring. I said “sir, excuse me a minute.”  I walked up to the lady behind the counter. I said, “mam, sorry to bother you, but i’m about to pass out on this floor.”  She jumped back from the counter and said, “you gonna throw up?” Now everybody in the lobby area stares in our direction. “I, I, I don’t know. I just need to lay down I think.” So there was a mad rush to get me to a room. I laid there for a while taking deep breaths and trying to think of a happy place.

Finally, I decided to man up again and force myself to get my drugs and go home.  I got home, barely. Driving home I could barely keep my head up. Sweat continued pouring. Walked in the door, apologized to Christie for about what she was about to endure by me.  And down I went.  In the chair, then in the bed. Couldn’t even go to the prayer summit.  And also lurking in shadows was the event I had in Georgia. 

Saturday morning (This morning).

Christie leaves with the boys to go to my niece’s birthday party.  Still a bit weak and lethargic I gather my luggage and merch to go fetch the rental car for my event tonight.

And they hit me.  

A torrent of hiccups. Uncontrollable. And absolutely unstoppable. And they came from the depths of me, from the bone-marrow I’m talking. Deep, jolting, convulsive, riveting. You get the picture?  These were no laughing-like hiccups. Not even on same planet. These hiccups came from the same source we’re already familiar with—the Grim Reaper.

After ONE HOUR on the road and hiccuping I called Christie. “Baby, pray for me. I’m having some kind of another reaction to that medicine.”  She prayed.

God answers prayer in really practical ways.  Spiritually influenced, I thought “Sprite” and “Tums.” So I bought two packs of Tums and a Sprite. And downed it like halloween candy. Hiccups stopped.

Ate lunch 1 hour later. Bam. Hiccups again.  Note to self—Never eat again for the rest of your life.

Get to event.  Repeat protocol- Sprite and Tums. Took a little longer but it worked.  Shared with one of the youth pastors/worship pastors my plight. (John McCullough, check out his site. He is a friend and great worship leader by the way.) John obviously didn’t take me seriously enough. When the other staff, the band, and I got together to pray, he prayed for me but didn’t pray about the hiccup saga.  Not good.  The MS pastor and 2008 leader of the youth pastor leadership seminar at Georgia’s SuperSummer Camp, Chris Trent, was with us but he didn’t have a clue about my issue… yet. And I’m sure from now on he won’t let me forget it.

The band leading the night was the Eddie Kirkland band out of Northpoint Community Church, Atlanta, Ga. They were leading the crowd in 7 songs before I was up.  Upstairs, I walked by the table in the green room (hospitality) and got a little plate of fruit.  I took two bites. After the second bite I stopped in mid-chew: “uh, oh. Bad move.” Sure enough, the hiccups were enraged. It’s like I kicked a hiccup ant pile.  They came without mercy. I even began timing them–every 8 seconds. I thought of labor contractions. Don’t ask me why.

5 songs to go until I was up. I called Christie. “Baby, they’re back.”  She prayed for me again.  By the way, I tried Tums and coke (no Sprite provided) again. Didn’t work.  

3 songs to go. John comes to get me. I say,  ”Bro, I hate to tell you this [HICcup] but….”  Nooowwww my man John prays for me! Then he contacts the main dude—Church minister of students and now good buddy— Bobby Gatlin. We meet back stage. 

2 songs to go. I began my spill to him— “Poison Ivy. Shots. Medicine. Reaction. Hiccups. Grim reaper.”  Then I said, “I’m just going out there in faith. Just be on standby. But I feel like He’s stopping it.”  

Time for me to go.  And no hiccups.

I speak for 45 minutes. No hiccups.

I walk straight off stage and into an hour long 13 Ways session with a couple of hundred dudes. No hiccups. Matter of fact there was a movement of strong repentance among many. Many came forward to pray. We all prayed at the same time. Poweful!  And… no hiccups.

Back to the green room. 1 hour until final general session.  General session. Repentance happens. Salvations come.   And, you guessed it, no hiccups.

Out by my table following the night. Meeting & Greeting. Night comes to a close. And then… hiccups.

Ha! The Lord so powerfully answered prayer. I remember Christie praying something like, “Lord, even if you just stop them so Jarrod can speak and then they come back, so be it.” And that’s exactly what He did. IT WAAAAS AWESOME.

I bought another Sprite and 4 packs of Rolaids after leaving the event. I am snuggling with them tonight. I drove to the hotel tonight with my insides feeling like they were coming out of my mouth. I walked to my hotel room door with two blades feeling stuck in my hips.   But I am joyful. God showed up in a big way tonight.

Now I share with you two final thoughts: 1) God answers prayer, so pray no matter how silly the issue may seem. 2) What doesn’t kill you makes for a great blog.