In speaking with Ann tonight, she wanted everyone to know that she feels your prayers.

after heading to rehab last month, 
God used this time to reveal the multiple blood clots 
in my lungs and infection in my body.  
i've been leaning hard on Jesus 
and on my fellow warriors' prayers.  
please stay with me in prayer as 
i continue to fight this illness. 
would you keep my sons in your prayers, 
as this has been a difficult time for them 
while i've been so ill.  love, ann

"Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
Lead me through this barren land.
I am weak, but Thou art mighty;
Hold me with Thy powerful hand.
Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven,
Feed me till I want no more;
Feed me till I want no more."

Ann enjoyed hearing the following story that was posted on her FB page and wanted to share with all of you.

Grace Dwyer

• Some of you have heard our story...some of you were there...others may not know...
  
  GOD Did It!
  
• I was the typical single girl living in Dallas in the '80's, 
• working in downtown Dallas at an oil company by day, 
• going to the numerous bars and dance clubs by night. 
• I remember several people asking me during these years: 
• "Grace, when are you going to start living for God? 
• When are you going to stop looking in all the wrong places to meet men?"
• 
  My reply was always, "I am having too much fun right now, I will one day…
• Don't worry about me!" God was working on me, though. 
• He used heartbreaks and other disappointments that always left me feeling alone and empty. 
• I see now how He kept calling me to Himself. He even used a sweet lady at my job. 
• She came to me one day and said, "Grace, they need people 
• to sing in the choir at First Baptist down the street.” 
• I replied: “And your point is?" "Well,” she said, 
• “I know you like to sing and I just thought you might like to go to the practice. 
• It's Thursday."
  
  “Fine,” I thought, “I will go.” I don't know why, but I did. 
• It was pretty funny after the practice when some of the friendly members said, 
• “See you Sunday morning, Grace!" "What? Why?” 
• I stuttered. “Sunday,” they replied, “you know,
•  the day we sing in church all the songs we just practiced!"
• 
  So I joined the choir and began attending the church, where the beloved pastor, 
• W. A. Criswell, would often shout, “And GOD did it!” 
• after recounting remarkable deeds of the Lord. 
• Months went by and I started going to a Singles Sunday School class. 
• I remember seeing the tall, funny seminary student teaching. 
• “He seems nice, cute, and has a great personality,” 
• I thought, “but...he could never be interested in a girl like me.” 
• Through a small group Bible Study, lead by another great seminary guy, 
• and the choir's amazing Easter play, I finally understood what Christ did, for me, 
• for MY sin. I truly became repentant and sorry for my life, for my sin—
• I finally got it. He wanted ALL of me.
  
  Slowly the "fun" at the clubs became less and less appealing. 
• My heart was focused on God. Oh, and that tall, funny seminary guy! 
• But that guy was not interested. I tried everything…making him dinner, 
• hosting the Bible Study, showing up on the visitation nights to church 
• visitors that he would always go out on, and conveniently needing a ride home 
• from downtown back to my car. Almost two years went by and…nothing. 
• A good friend knew my frustration and suggested I tack a Scripture verse, 
• Psalm 37:4, to the wall in front of me at work to read when I was down, which I did.
  
  FBC had great speakers and one of them, Ann Kiemel-Anderson, 
• came and told us how when she was 35 years old, 
• God had put together her—an independent Boston marathon runner-author—
• and an Idaho potato farmer in marriage. “Hmmm,” I thought, 
• looking I across the room at tall seminary guy, 
• who was fiercely taking notes as she spoke. I closed my eyes at that moment and prayed. 
• "Lord, please find ME a husband, 
• OR, please make me content with being single. 
• Surely, it must not be ‘him,’ but if you can find that lady a husband in Idaho, 
• surely you can find me one Dallas!" 
• FINALLY I let go of it and started resting, trusting in His will for me.
  
  Not long after this, tall seminary guy and I were at a Wednesday night service.
  He turned to me and asked, "Do you eat lunch after Church on Sunday?" 
• "Eat lunch?” I said, “yes, why?" "Well would you like to go?” he said.
•  "You mean, like a DATE?" I said, clarifying the offer! 
• "Yes,” he said. I remember going to the ladies room with a friend, 
• and literally screaming, "John Dwyer just asked me out on a date!"
  
  He took me to lunch on May 8, 1988 and we spent as much time together 
• as we could during days and evenings from then until June 24th. 
• That night, he asked me to go to the top of Reunion Tower for dinner. 
• All the time we spent together, he had never kissed me. 
• We had both done relationships the wrong way in the past 
• and he said he wanted to do this one different. 
• As the sun was setting that beautiful June evening, 
• I asked how he started "having feelings" for me. 
• "It was that day when that lady Ann Kiemel-Anderson spoke,” he said.
•  “I just looked across the room 
• at you and started ‘liking’ you.”
  
  He then told me for the first time that he LOVED me and recited First Corinthians 13 to me—
• the whole chapter. Right then the waiter delivered a dozen yellow roses to the table 
• and John asked me to marry him! I replied, "Only if I get to KISS you first!"—
• which I did, outside on the Reunion breezeway 560 feet over Dallas. 
• We were married on August 13, 1988 in the beautiful sanctuary of 
• First Baptist Church of Dallas. Happy Valentine’s Day, tall, funny seminary guy!
  
  “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”
  —Psalm 37:4

If any of you would like to share a story/memory of how Ann's ministry has touched your life, please post on Ann's FB page and we will use in some of her blogs while she is fighting this battle with her health.  Ann would love to read your stories. 

We continue to bring you excerpts from Ann's books through the years.  She cares so much about staying connected even when she is not personally able to blog at this time.  Thank you for your prayers for Ann.

Excerpts from "YES"   Ann Kiemel  1978

when things i once thought were gain,
i now count as loss.
i have put aside all else, counting it worth
less than nothing, in order that
i can have Christ. . .
and become one with Him. . .

i don't mean to say i am perfect.  i haven't
learned all i should even yet,
but i keep working toward that day
when i will be all that Christ saved me for
and wants me to be.

no. . . i am still not all i should be
but i am bringing all my energies to bear
on this one thing:
forgetting the past
looking forward to what lies ahead,
i strain to reach the end of the race
and receive the prize. . .
                                     philippians 3:7, 12, 13

this is my spiritual autobiography.  i want to allow
myself to be vulnerable.  i want to be brave.  i want
to say to you, in specific, genuine illustrations:
i am human.
i fail.  struggle.  get scared.  have hurts.  am lonely.
but. . .
i am standing with my face to the sunrise.  my back
against the wind.  my head high.  my heart
sturdy and strong.  i am committed.  i am
truly whole.  Jesus Christ is the highest
Fulfillment and Joy in life.

i want this book to be, to the glory of Jesus Christ,
my "will and testament," my statement
of the power of Christ in one, everyday,
ordinary young life

YES
to tomorrow.
fresh dreams.
higher mountains.
greater impossibilities.
wider sunrises.
stouter courage.
braver risks.

YES
i'm human.
i fail. . . feel insecure. . .cry.
i hurt, struggle.
get scared.
know inadequacy.
i'm single.  a woman.
i long for a man.
i am tempted.

YES
sometimes, i forget Who has led me
to where i am.
forget that i am a servant and
not a hero.
forget that "if we lose our life, we will find it."
that those who seek will find.

YES
to the Cross.
to obedience. . .honesty. . .
reality. . .earnest heart.
to joy and sorrow.
ease and difficulty.
success and failure.
to forgiving.
to saying things that edify.

YES
because Jesus is the divine Yes.
because He changes everything.
He is my highest Fulfillment.
He's made me whole. . .
takes the bad and turns it to good.
He is my Song. . .
my Reason to live.

for to me, to live is Christ.

Excerpts from "I'm Running To Win"  Ann Kiemel, 1980

in a race, everyone runs but only one person

gets first prize.  so run your race to win.

to win the contest you must deny yourselves

many things that would keep you from 

doing your best. an athlete goes to all

this trouble just to win a blue ribbon or a sliver cup.

but we do it for a heavenly reward that never

disappears. so i run straight to the goal with

purpose in every step.  1 corinthians 9:24-26

every morning, i wake up with a prayer:

"Jesus, i am just ann. my city is so big.

make me creative. give me ideas for my 

corner of the world."

shortly after the 1979 boston marathon, and

meeting bev wenshau, a young mother from

minneapolis and a five-time marathoner, i 

woke up one morning and thought,

"i know, Jesus...i could become a runner

and meet all the runners in my city...

and sing them songs and touch them where

they hurt, be a friend, maybe, someday, i can run

the boston marathon."

(well, You and i, Jesus)

i did realize at the start that i came from a totally

nonathletic family.  that i had never been a runner.

that i was thirty-four years old.

inherent in that tiny seed dream was the definite

possibility of failure. of never making it into

any marathon, especially the olympics of

marathons: boston.

of suffering and being vulnerable before the world,

and probably misunderstood...and falling short

of the goal.

that is the way it is with dreams.

with being faithful.

giving one's best every day.

it is not:

"Jesus, i will be deeply committed to You if You'll

heal my brother...or increase my salary...or give me

that new house...or make me famous."

it is, rather:

"Jesus, i will follow You to the end.

no guarantees asked.

no special rewards except that You will be at the end

of the road to meet me when i get there...

and i will know that i have lived my life out in truth.

whatever is along the road...during the race...

"yes" to it. to anything You bring into my life.

                        * * * * * * * * * * * * 

running is like finding Jesus

you start out with so much enthusiasm...

so excited and exhilarated.

so much momentum.

ready to become a great runner.

what you don't know then is that it

doesn't happen overnight.

it takes hours of courage and pain and hard work.

standing alone.

putting more into the effort than anyone else

understands.

it is one thing to find Jesus and another to commit

one's life to Him and follow Him day in and day out

without demanding any promises or guarantees.

just following Him because you love Him.

it is hard to drag my body out

morning after morning...

especially on mornings like this

when it is gray and cloudy outside

and so cozy inside.

it is hard to be disciplined and keep my eye on

the mark instead of on how i feel.

Jesus, i do this in Your strength.

                      * * * * * * * * * * * * 

i like faithfulness

i like being disciplined in running

because it helps me to be disciplined

in the other areas of my life.

i really believe that if we discipline ourselves

in one area, it spills over

and affects all the other areas.

the more i'm disciplined in my running

the more i'm disciplined in my eating...

in my Bible study...

in my exercise habits...

in my love for others.

it all falls together.

the more i look to God for obedience

to follow Him...

not my physical desires...

or my ego needs...

the more He is the fulfillment.

last night someone asked me again about

loneliness and what i do with it.

i think there is only one answer to loneliness:

give your life away....

be a servant.

it's true...

if we lose our lives, we find them.

if we serve, we live.

people go to parties...drink...beat their 

brains out in an office...try to look beautiful...

just trying not to be lonely.

what they don't know is if they give

their lives away

and spend their lives touching over people...

meeting needs...

healing hurts...

they are sustained and comforted and filled

with excitement and adventure...

and the loneliness dissipates...is gone...lost.

today, Jesus, make me a servant.

Excerpt from "It's Incredible"  Ann Kiemel, 1977

gardens

you would love this little lady.

ninety-seven years old!

when i met her, she was "out back" lifting

heavy rock, trying to landscape one little

piece of her yard that she thought looked

imperfect.

i noticed her hands,

creased and worn, but perfectly

steady.  she never used glasses to read

ANYTHING.  her hearing was perfect.

well-dressed and groomed, she lived alone,

and did all her own housecleaning.

at ninety-seven, she is still painting large canvases

with bright, vivid colors

and selling them.

she makes beautiful rugs,

designed by herself, a marvelous garden flourishes

in the back yard.  a couple of years ago, only because

of her age, they took her driver's license away.

"eloise...

you've been a performer--pianist and singer,

you're an established artist. . . and have traveled

abroad.

out of all your experiences in life, what has given

you the greatest satisfaction?"

"my garden..."

colors and perfumed petals and little buds sprouting

and fresh tomatoes and small, red beets and

spring onions...

"what do you dislike?"

"DISLIKE?" her face in a deep frown and her voice snapping.

"well, you know . . . washing dishes or ironing or

scrubbing or cleaning up your yard..."

"whatever there is to be done, I LIKE IT!"

her two favorite things are wood and manure.

"things grow so well in manure...and just about

anything wonderful can be created with wood..."

what an extraordinary human being.

she believes she was born to be creative with every day

in her life. . . . that God believes in hard work, 

and a positive spirit, there should be much wonder

and joy over watching things grow,

in the out-of-doors.

faithfulness to create the MOST with all the talents
He has given brings responsibility and a sense of

well-being...

even when it's down-home hard work.

often i've read the story in the new testament

about Jesus and the talents.  suddenly, i think i

understand exactly what He meant.  He will judge us

not by how good someone else is,

or by how spectacularly we measure out one day.

He will watch our lifelong endeavor to take

EVERY day and every hour and put whatever

our best is into it.

maybe no one around will pat us on the back,

or praise us, but HE KNOWS.

Excerpts from:  "I'm Celebrating"  Ann Kiemel


i am going to change my world.

you watch.

you'll see.

because i have a giant of a Lord

inside of me,

and He and i, with love,

will push through the barriers.

i'm not afraid.

i am Jesus to the world around me.

you are.

His heart and hands and eyes and voice

and spirit of honesty and care.

you and God and i . . . a team.

we can love the world to joy, and meaningful and

brand new tomorrows.

Jesus dreamed we would.

i stand before Christ and the world.  

my heart shouts an affirmation:

"Jesus, i am a humble, lowly servant woman.

take me . . . all of me.

add anything.  take away anything.

at any cost.  with any price.

make me Yours. completely. . . wholly.

may i not be remembered for

how i wear my hair

or the shape of my face

or the people i know

or the crowds i've addressed.

may i be known for loving You. . . 

for carrying a dream. . .

for building bridges

to the hurt and broken and lost in the world.

make me what You would be be if You lived

in Person where i do.

may everything accomplished through my simple

life bring honor and glory to You.

take my human failures and flaws,

and use them to remind these who know me

that only You are God,

and i will always just be ann.

amen.

amen.

i'm going where He goes . . .

out into the world of lonely people.

"sir, can i take your hand?

or yours, ma'am?

can i walk with you?

can i laugh with you and cry with you

and love you to Jesus?"

you just can't stop love.

it crushes barriers.

it breaks and builds bridges.

it finds a way through.

it never gives up.

it's hard work.

it listens.

it walks ten extra miles.

it's something you do.

Jesus did it for me.

He died to set me free.

He lives to share my life with me

and i go to His and my people

and love wins.

today,

i celebrate you.

my friends.

fellow dreamers.

determined, faithful followers of Jesus Christ.

people who believe. who are not ashamed to say so.

who will not quit. who remain pure and uncontaminated

even when others beg you to compromise. who follow

your dreams and fight for them and die with them

so deeply enrooted in you that they spring up in

other voices and other hearts for centuries to come.

i celebrate because we stand together.

without being united, dreams cannot live.

and

as long as i breathe and move, and even in the 

darkness when i cannot move, 

i will celebrate most of all

the power, grace, patience and forgiveness of 

my loving Savior, Jesus Christ.

He is the author of all my dreams, of every song.

"surely goodness and mercy have followed me all the

days of my life..."

excerpt from "I'm Celebrating", 1979

While Ann is in the hospital and unable to write her blogs, she so wanted to continue sharing with you.  We thought you might enjoy reading excerpts from Ann's books.  She thanks you so much for your prayers!

i love the word impossible...

it is like joy after sorrow.

people being friends after being enemies.

rainbows after drenching rain.

a wound healed.

sunsets on quiet evenings after hot, noisy days.

paralyzed, injured limbs, learning to grow strong and useful again.

forgiveness after wrong.

truth after fog.

new love-made babies.

birds learning to fly and own the sky.

bitterness turned to mellowness.

fresh, genuine hope ... once abandoned.

people finding each other at right moments,

in unexplained, obscure places...

for God-ordained reasons.

i love the word impossible because my God

believes in adventure

and extraordinary mountains, and He dares to

be alive in a world crawling with terrible situations.

He promises to be bigger than any impossibility

because He is love...and love always finds a way

through, in time.

love isn't scared.

it builds bridges instead of walls.

it never gives up.

it always hangs on.

it waits with stubborn, strong hope.

sometimes even years.

love makes God alive in far more than human souls.

like sun and clear sky and drooping branches

and dark birds and color and design and music...

and the sound of water on a shore.

IMPOSSIBLE means that i,

an ordinary young woman,

can be something special and significant

in an enormous, hurting world.

i can be love where i live,

and that is Christ...

and HE really does make ALL

the difference!

excerpt from:  I Love The Word Impossible  - Ann Kiemel

Update on Ann

Since our last update, Ann was sent home from rehab with blood thinners to continue the process of dissolving the clots in her lungs.

Ann was home a short time and had to go back to the hospital as she is still very ill.

She wants you to know she loves you all so much and requests continued prayers. 

"YES, to anything.

to God's ultimate will being done in my life.

to anything, because Jesus can turn it all to good."

... excerpt from Ann's book, YES