I have too many projects on my hands. LOL. How many of you can understand? How many of you can relate?
I am very thankful for good health, for when I am not feeling well, it is hard to get motivated to do anything, because all I do is rest! Past few weeks I've been sick off and on, with cold and allergy symptoms. Anyways, one project I am working on is getting my story out of how I lost around 30 pounds last year. (Only because EVERYONE at the gym keeps asking me about it, I thought I'd make a video in more detail explaining my story more). I also wanted to get my Christ testimony out there for you, as it benefits me and you. Our God is an awesome God, can I get an AAAA-MEEEEEEENNNNNN?! I put together some bullet points of my Christ story and of how I came to know Christ, what I was like before I met Christ, and how He's made a difference in my life now. Praise the Lord, I am still a work in progress, Christ's masterpiece, here to do good works and to bring God pleasure! How about you? Who does Christ say you are? What does God say about YOU? (Hint: it must be from the Word of God and point you closer to Him!!!!!!!!!)
If I get a chance, and if I remember to, I will make a video about the bullet points below, and insert it in here later. Have fun reading my story!
How I Came to Know Christ:
- 2nd graders wore brownie scout uniforms to school
- 4th grade became girl scout
- troop meetings and outings 4th-6th grade
- 7th grade becoming "The King's Kids" due to perceived peer pressure
- girls slumber party/sleepover/telling ghost stories /playing games including wee jee board/ maybe light as a feather, also/bedtime stories and bedtime prayer/leader invited anyone who wanted Jesus Christ to come into their hearts to receive Him and invite Him in/ entire group of us crying and weeping/ told to raise our hands/i did not raise my hand but I did "say yes to Christ" and invited Him into my heart that day
- honorz classes 7th and 8th grade
- eating lunch alone
- 9th grade new friend from class (spanish class) who was a christian and invited me to eat lunch with her and another gal
- 10th grade alone in new high school, making new friends honors classes again, classmate asked me what college going to ? i don't know what is college and she was stunned!
- 10th or 11th grade met bible study friends, including old former friend from 9th grade, leader tells me i cannot pray to Mary and also not do the catholic rosary
- 8th grade made the catholic sacrament of confirmation; attended confirmation classes in 6th 7th and/or 8th grades; i wondered why in 8th grade i am making commitment to my faith again when I already asked Jesus into my heart from King's Kids the year before; but i do it anyways because it's my upbringing catholic confirmation
- 7th or 8th grade our CCD leaders gave us all Bibles; our very own personal Bibles! Mine was The Living Bible I believe. And covers to go along with it (they made it seem all exciting and fun to us).
- so back to 10th or 11th grade, our lunch Bible study leader challenged us/me to read entire Bible, so I began reading NT!
- 11th grade Billy Graham came to Anaheim, CA for "crusades" so I went; my group leader told me to ask my mom to take me and my family friends, and she did!
- I said "yes" to the altar call, "professing my faith in front of men" by going to the field and meeting a counselor; she asked me if I had ever done this before, so I mentioned my 7th grade slumber party; then she wrote on my card "re-dedication"; dedication and re-dedication who knows or who cares what's the difference?!
- And a wonderful year with the group members of our lunch time Bible study group! Myclass mate invited me 2 or 3 times to her VBS held in Mexico over the Spring break and my parents let me go! With her youth group; such a fabulous time of my life!!!!!!!!!
- Fast forward to college first year and again no friends, starting over, meeting new people, and having new experiences; sadly, I chose getting drunk and intoxicated a few times.
- I pray and ask the Lord for Christian friends because I was alone in the dark, and He answered that prayer! He led me to a group on campus called Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. There I made christian friends and began to grow in my faith once again.
- back to high school, after the billy graham crusade, another class mate invited me to his church, a non-denominational new fellowship that would later become the Vineyard
- so mornings i would walk to catholic mass and sunday evenings i would attend a vineyard church for about a year or so;
- i thought the amercian dream was something to pursue; i hadn't realized (yet) that was not Christ's vision for my life; not that money is bad, but the love of money is the root of all evil.
- then the struggle and the back-and-forth began in my life; between doing my thing and doing God's will; and sanctification was also occurring alongside; the four soils was becoming evident in my life; i wanted the things of God but I was unclear on how to live a disciplined christian life...
- i went on a short term missions trip and practiced street witnessing in a foreign land...God sparked something inside of me on that trip that has never gone away inwardly...
- a special season with 4 girlfriends from church...eventually they all moved away...and, I was never treated the same again for a long time (or so it seemed)...
- why didn't other people treat me the way I deserve to be treated (with brotherly love, for example; instead, ignored often times by many from the church)...still, i kept the faith...
- today I am going back to the basics...today I am going to participate in an online class called "Dynamic Discipleship"...
- I also participated in a correspondence Bible study in my youth; was I a teenager or younger? I don't recall exact age, but every week I would get a Bible study in the mail, with questions to answer and Bible passages to refer to. I learned the gospel basics there, also. And, each week (or lesson) I had to mail back and return, someone would "correct it" (in red ink, ha) and return it with the next week's lesson.
- I came to faith in Christ around age 13. I re-professed my faith in Christ around the age of maybe 15 or 16. I continued on in the faith, with getting side-tracked in some of the common pitfalls such as drunkenness or lustful thoughts or ungodly behaviors; things spoken against in the Word of God.
- Today, in my mid 50s, I'm still saying yes to Jesus; I'm still following Jesus. I give when led to give, whether it's time, talent, or resources. I am meditating today on Matthew 5:16, where Jesus says let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and give glory to God our heavenly Father (sorry I paraphrased from memory but if you want exact quote you can go open up your own Bible).
- Before I met Christ, I was just a girl, living a catholic upbringing, and in many ways a goody two-shoes. My earthly father made sure that I was an obedient child, and so I feared getting in trouble. God used this upbringing to keep me on the straight and narrow, for much of my childhood. Though I dabbled in sin, for much of my life I would have said God kept me from much heartache, and in many ways that is and was and still is true today.
My prayer today~(you are welcome to join me, if you like):
Oh Lord, You and You alone get all the credit, all the glory, and all the glory for anything good in my life! For any and all "keeping power" may You receive glory, honor and praise! Yes, I may have gone through "hard things" that were challenging for me, either at the time or now, but You have always been there for me. Thank You dear Lord for always having Your hand of protection upon my life. I am sincerely sorry for any and all times I strayed away from You and/or from Your Word!! Thank You for highlighting for me today Matthew 5:16, "LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE BEFORE MEN, THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS AND GIVE GLORY TO YOUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN." (I surrender afresh to You now dear Lord, and repent that times of refreshing may come.) What a wonderful and merciful God You are. Oh, how I love You and I want to worship You and serve You forever. Amen.
