A Lifetime Testimony of Miracles, Visions, Signs, and Dreams

By Derek D. Carter Sr.

This book was created from true events and real encountered that I experienced throughout my life over a ten-year period from 1994 to 2003. I was inspired by God to share my stories with you to let you know that you’re never alone because God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Comforter which is Holy Ghost is with you. God wants you to know that you’re not the first person

to face your situation, and you will not be the last. The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9 KJV).

There are many different messages that God will give you from this book, each story contains its’ own message.

At the beginning of each story you would think that each one would have a tragic ending, but you will see that God stepped in on time and worked it out for my good. God is a good God and knows how to give good gifts to His children, He knows how to protect you from all hurt, harm, and danger.

He knows how to bring you peace, happiness, and unspeakable joy. And once you have finished reading this book you will find that God will be with you through anything and everything that you may go through only if you ask and allow Him.

I’m not sure if you can relate to every message that this book has to offer, but I can honestly say that it will be at least one that really touch your heart.

Because you or someone you know went through something similar. I have been blessed to be able to share these miracles, visions, signs, and dreams with my family, friends and now with the world. To God be the glory.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9781647010218

Book preview

Chapter 1

A Phone Call Set Up by God

The nineties was the best decade of all time to me. During that time, people knew how to have fun, fuss, and fight, but most importantly, people knew how to love one another and be a family. Because around that time, we had seasoned people like our grandmother and grandfather, mother, father, aunts, uncles, neighbors, and church members (a village) to help raise you. I remember playing football, basketball, racing, and slap boxing against friends and family. Sometimes a little fight might break out, but no matter what the situation, everyone always made up or just let the situation go. Most of the people that came up during my generation that’s still living today consider the nineties time frame to be the most memorable and most exciting time ever. To be honest, I call those days the good ol’ days because everyone knew how to have a good time without killing one another.

During the nineties, my true value was revealed, and I learned a lot of valuable lifelong lessons that I hold dear to my heart even until this day. As I begin to look back over my life and remember what God was trying to get me to understand at a very young age, trust me, it’s going to blow your mind. In 1994, we stayed in an apartment complex called Pine Ridge Apartment located in McComb, Mississippi. Most of the guys there was around my age, so I had many friends, and some of us are friends until this day. We may not get a chance to see one another much, but whenever our paths cross, it’s always a pleasant one.

I still remember a lot of wonderful memories that I had there, and I also remember some of the bad ones as well. If you don’t mind, I would like to share with you one of my bad memories that I had during my stay at Pine Ridge Apartment. I don’t mean to keep you waiting to hear my story, so please clear your mind and let me take you to a happy place. I’m not telling you this story to make you have a bad day or feel sorry for someone, but I am sharing my story with you to show you the goodness of Jesus.

I’m not sure if it was summer, fall, winter, or spring. All I remember is that late one evening, me, my brother-in-law, (Keith,) and his friend, (Johnny,) were sitting around, talking, joking, and drinking, just doing what we do. Most of our conversations were always about competition, or some type of challenge among one another. Keith and I started talking smack to one another, so we decided that we should just slap box and see who will win, and that’s just what we did. Now keep in mind I was about three to four years younger than he was, but I was always ready for any type of competition. We slapped box about two or three minutes. He felt like he won, but I disagree because I felt like I won. Truth be told, I got the most slaps in, but he got the best shot. I say that because I got the best of him, and I stopped because I thought we was finished, but I guess it was just my assumption because this guy waited until I put my guard down and said I won, then he stepped on my right foot so I could not move and slapped the taste out of my mouth and walked away. I wanted to fight him so, so bad. I don’t think I would have won, but he would not fight me because he considered me his little brother.

A little later, Keith and Johnny decided to go for a round or two just playing around. During the nineties, that was how we had fun; it was not the only way, but slap boxing was fun, and it gave you bragging rights among your friends. Nothing serious. Later that evening, some guys drove up in an old LTD. They got out and came over to where we were. I knew one of them because we went to the same high school, but the other two I did not know. They brought some beer with them, and now everyone outside, begins to drink and talk smack to one another. Somehow, we started talking about the slap-boxing matches that took place earlier that evening, and once again, nobody wanted to admit they lost, so what did we do? Started it back up, but this time, we had some outsiders.

At this point, every person out there started talking noise to another, and of course, everybody was telling one another who could beat who, so at that point, it was said to call out whomever you wanted to slap box against. Everyone was pairing off with one another one match at a time. We had a lot of fun; it was everyone against everyone. Then as the night went on, it was our team against theirs. The three of them against three of us, so let the matches begin. Somebody please ring the bell—ding, ding.

No matter what took place, we were still drinking, joking, talking smack, and just having a lot of fun until nobody was willing to accept the results of who really won. So arguments started, but we continued to slap box throughout the night. It’s late and everyone is pretty much drunk and now everybody was talking about fighting. The daylights hours are over, and the friendly arguments are over with also, and now the friendly words have escalated to fighting words. By this time, my sister told me that I had a telephone call over by my aunt’s house, so I left to go talk on the phone to my girlfriend, Shanda. My mother, LaVerne, was a single parent, and the job she had was just enough for her to pay the main bills, and even those bills were somewhat too much at times. Therefore, my mother did not make enough money to be able to afford a house phone. A lot of times she struggled to make ends meet. Per my memories, I was on the phone with my girlfriend no longer than five to ten minutes before my sister came running, busting through my aunt’s door, saying, Derek, Derek, come quick they are shooting outside, and she thought her husband got shot. I told my girlfriend I had to go. I put the phone down and start running out the door. As soon as I turned the corner, I heard a loud gunshot, and from the sound of it, it sounded like a 12-gauge shotgun to be exact. When I heard the gunshot, I quickly turned around and ran back into my aunt’s house along with my sister.

I thought, What’s the best way for me to go outside to go get a gun without getting shot? I was trying to go get the gun, so I could start shooting back at them because Keith and Johnny were still out there somewhere, and it was a possibility that they were shot. I asked my sister if she knew where the gun was, but she didn’t know. So, I was thinking to myself, I must do something to help my friends, then it hit me that I could run along the fence line, and hopefully, I can make it back over to the other side without being seen. Once again, I opened the door trying to get to the other side, this time I did exactly what I thought would work. I ducked down very low and started running along the fence line until I got over to the other side of the apartment complex.

My aunt lived on one side, and we lived on the other side; only a parking lot divided the two sides. I didn’t want to run across the parking lot because that’s where the gunshots were coming from. First, so I wouldn’t get shot. Secondly, so I could sneak up on them and shoot back once I get to the gun. Oh my, I was so scared because I thought that I was going to get shot. I don’t know how, but I managed to make it to the gun. Now the gun was in my hand, and I was willing to kill somebody before I get shot.

As soon as I reasoned with myself that I may have to kill someone, I took a few steps heading toward the parking lot where they were parked, and without seeing them, I could hear their car crank up. Now I’m running trying to get to them before they leave, but the only thing I saw was their taillights. They were gone. They left the scene. I was thinking to myself, They are trying to get away before the police comes. At that moment, everybody was running around, trying to find my sister’s husband and his friend. When we found them, we saw that they both had been shot. I don’t know how they got shot as bad as they did because the parking lot was full of cars. Think about it, shotgun shells are packed with BBs, and when you fire a shotgun, the BBs are supposed to spread out as the distance increases. People would always say that bullets don’t have names on them, and that may be true. But nobody never said anything about buckshot because that night, those buckshots had names on them.

Trust and believe I’m not saying this trying to be funny or joking or anything like that. Keith was bleeding all over. He was shot from head to toe literally, and Johnny was shot in the hand and in his lungs.