BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

OCTOBER READ THROUGH THE BIBLE Old Testament / New Testament Mon 1 Jer. 7-8 / 1 Tim. 6 Tue 2 Jer. 9-10 / 2 Tim. 1 Wed 3 Jer. 11-12 / 2 Tim. 2 Thu 4 Jer. 13-14 / 2 Tim. 3 Fri 5 Jer. 15-16 2 / Tim. 4 Sat 6 Jer. 17-18 Sun 7 Ps. 110-114; Prov. 24:23-34 Mon 8 Jer. 19-20 / Titus 1 Tue 9 Jer. 21-22 / Titus 2 Wed 10 Jer. 23 / Titus 3 Thu 11 Jer. 24-25 / Philem. Fri 12 Jer. 26-27 / Heb. 1 Sat 13 Jer. 28-29 Sun 14 Ps. 115-118; Prov. 25:1-20 Mon 15 Jer. 30-31 / Heb. 2 Tues 16 Jer. 32 / Heb. 3 Wed 17 Jer. 33-34 / Heb. 4 Thu 18 Jer. 35-36 / Heb. 5 Fri 19 Jer. 37-38 / Heb. 6 Sat 20 Jer. 39-40 Sun 21 Ps. 119: 1-48; Prov. 25:21-26:12 Mon 22 Jer. 41-42 / Heb. 7 Tue 23 Jer. 43-44 / Heb. 8 Wed 24 Jer. 45-46 / Heb. 9 Thu 25 Jer. 47-48 / Heb. 10 Fri 26 Jer. 49 / Heb. 11 Sat 27 Jer. 50 Sun 28 Ps. 119:49-88; Prov. 26:13-28 Mon 29 Jer. 51-52 / Heb. 12 Tue 30 Lam. 1-2 / Heb. 13 Wed 31 Lam. / 3 Jas. 1 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * article from p. 14 continues * * * * Candy would have loved to try out for a part if she hadn’t had so much going on with her cousin’s wedding. Pausing, she looked in the mirror at her furrowed brows. She’d had another dream about Stephen LaFlora. It was odd how he kept popping up in her dreams. After all, they’d only met once when she was 12. Even then, he hadn’t really had a conversation with Candy. That was her nickname. He’d known her by her given name Woola, pronounced Oo-la. Their families had a lot in common. Both lived in Chicago. Both of their fathers, grandfathers and uncles were pastors in the Church of God in Christ denomination. When Candy had been 12 and Stephen 15, both families had taken a chartered bus to a convention in Houston. Stephen had walked over to talk to Candy when her mother swept down like a hawk. “Young man, do you have any idea how old my daughter is?” “No, ma’am!” “She’s 12 years old!” And that had been that. Stephen not only never spoke to her again, Candy hadn’t even seen him since that day. Except in her dreams. They weren’t romantic dreams, he just kept making an appearance. Candy believed the dreams represented a prayer burden. Thinking that Stephen must be going through a difficult time, she’d started praying for him. 'Go to the audition,' the Lord said. Exasperated, Candy looked at herself in the mirror. She was a mess. Hair in curlers and baggy jeans. Tying a scarf over the rollers, she ran to her car. She’d just go as she was. Inside the theater, Candy was about to audition when she saw the show’s director sitting at the piano, ready to accompany her. When he turned to look at her, she froze. Stephen LaFlora. She was a hot mess and he was…well, just about perfect. Oh God! I’ve got to get out of here! Just then, he started playing her piece. Too late, she realized. I’ll sing, then I’ll run. Candy sang and then dashed out the door, running faster than she thought possible. Forget a callback. She wanted to pretend this audition had never happened. “Miss! Hey, Miss!” He was chasing her! Candy picked up speed and ran across the parking lot, but he caught her. “Wait a minute!” Stephen said. “The whole time you were singing, I thought you looked familiar. What’s your name?” “Candy Dickerson.” “No, you have another name. I just know it.” “Woola Dickerson.” “It’s you!” Stephen said, stunned. Strongholds Broken “I got the part,” Candy remembers, “and Stephen got my number. That was August. We started dating in September. Stephen’s idea of a great date was to come to my house for a Bible study. Another of his favorite things to do on a date was play cassette recordings he’d made of Kenneth Copeland’s radio broadcasts. “I didn’t mind, because I knew Stephen would never become a pastor. With so many pastors in my family, I’d ruled that out for me. I’d prayed for God to send me a Christian musician. Stephen met that criteria. He’d earned a degree in music and was a classical pianist. He wrote and composed music. He was such a gifted musician that I knew pastoring a church wasn’t in his future.” Stephen LaFlora had been born with such debilitating asthma that he’d been hospitalized for the first time when he was a mere 6 weeks old. Throughout his childhood and college years, he’d spent an average of three times a year in the hospital. When he heard about Kenneth E. Hagin, who’d been bedridden most of his childhood before being healed, Stephen had been intrigued. He’d been even more intrigued when he learned that Brother Hagin held prayer meetings where many people were being healed. Stephen immersed himself into teachings on faith. “While in college, I’d been witnessing to a young man and telling him that God still heals,” Stephen recalls. “He had agreed to meet me at church on Sunday morning. On Friday, I developed a full-blown asthma attack. I told the Lord I’d had enough. I’d recorded all the healing scriptures onto a cassette tape. I played them all night on Friday night. I was no better Saturday, so I continued listening to them. Sunday morning, I was still wheezing. I got dressed and drove to church by faith. On the way, every symptom left me. That stronghold over my life was broken. * * * * article continues on p. 17 * * * * 16 : BVOV

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