On February 24th & 25th 2006 I attended a ladies seminar by Beth Moore. One of the scriptures that spoke to me was Rev. 1:8, "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." Beth said that He is the God of your "is", your "was", and your "is to come". Thank God! He is the beginning and the end of my present, my past, and my future! He is the Almighty One over my past! He has authority over my past and it must serve him! In this seminar she said, "there comes a time when it's time to turn." That is when it hit me, it was time, I had to make a change.
Then on February 26th 2006 I was reading "When Heaven Invades Earth", by Bill Johnson, and he stated, "There comes a time when simply knowing truth will no longer satisfy. If it does not change circumstances for good, what good is it?" This was confirmation and encouragement that it was time to make a REAL change.
1 John 3:8 says, "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil (in my life). My emphasis added. He came to destroy the works of the devil in MY LIFE! What is the "works of the devil" in your life that needs to be destroyed?
Bill Johnson stated, "Giving what we have received releases Him into situations previously held in the grip of darkness." It is my desire that by giving you what I have received, God will be released into your situation that has held you in the grip of darkness. My past MUST serve the Gospel!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The Glorious Journey
It was at this point that I knew I could not live the rest of my life like this and if I was to try, then my life would be shorter than if I was living in freedom. The only place I had to go to was God's word, I needed it for dear life. Because of the insomnia I would be awake all hours of the night reading, praying, and seeking God's answer to restoring my life and my health. There were several keys to my climbing out of the pit, and now I would like to share them with you.
The first key would be the Word. Scriptures began to come alive. Secondly, I received insight from books I read namely, "The Practice of the Presence of God", by Bro. Lawrence; "When Heaven Invades Earth", by Bill Johnson; and "Get Out of that Pit" and "Breaking Free" by Beth Moore. Finally, after two years, I sought the counsel of a few wise, Godly, friends. And, God spoke words of encouragement, direction and confirmation through people who knew absolutely nothing about what I was going through. He is so amazing!
I will leave you with one of the first scriptures that came alive to me. Philippians 1:12, "I tell you brethren (sisters) that the things that happened to me have turned out for the furtherance of the gospel (good news)", or as the Message puts it, "I want to report to you friends that my imprisonment has had the opposite effect, instead of being squelched, the message has actually prospered." Praise the Lord! The things I went through were not for nothing! God will, God will, GOD WILL use it to further His kingdom. He WILL turn all things for good!
The first key would be the Word. Scriptures began to come alive. Secondly, I received insight from books I read namely, "The Practice of the Presence of God", by Bro. Lawrence; "When Heaven Invades Earth", by Bill Johnson; and "Get Out of that Pit" and "Breaking Free" by Beth Moore. Finally, after two years, I sought the counsel of a few wise, Godly, friends. And, God spoke words of encouragement, direction and confirmation through people who knew absolutely nothing about what I was going through. He is so amazing!
I will leave you with one of the first scriptures that came alive to me. Philippians 1:12, "I tell you brethren (sisters) that the things that happened to me have turned out for the furtherance of the gospel (good news)", or as the Message puts it, "I want to report to you friends that my imprisonment has had the opposite effect, instead of being squelched, the message has actually prospered." Praise the Lord! The things I went through were not for nothing! God will, God will, GOD WILL use it to further His kingdom. He WILL turn all things for good!
Friday, October 17, 2008
The beginning
This is my first attempt at blogging and also at sharing my testimony. I have been considering how and where to start, I suppose the beginning is as good a place as any. In the last 3 years God has helped me climb out of some very deep pits, some I dug myself and some that were dug for me. I want to encourage you to start climbing. Following is my testimony:
My father was killed in a car wreck before I was born. My mother worked hard and raised me by herself, she was and is an awesome mother. When I was 5 I was molested (not raped) by an uncle by marriage. When I was about 9, I was molested by a friend of the family. I accepted the Lord as my savior at the age of 9 and began my Christian walk. This was very timely, because without Him there is no telling where I would be. My mother and I moved from Missouri to Florida when I was 10. We moved away from all of our family, all we had was each other and some friends who were stationed at Eglin Air Force base. I began attending First Baptist Church in Niceville, Florida. The church and the youth program would be a stabilizing force in my life during some very tough times ahead. It was 1970 and some of my friends became involved in drugs. It seemed as though God always pulled me back when I would get a little too far away. I broke off those friendships.
In 7th grade one of my teachers became like a surrogate father to me. Later, after I became an adult I went to visit him, and he made sexual advances to me. Seeing how I am only up to the 7th grade in this blog, I will start being more general or this is going to be very long. Throughout college and my years in the workforce I have had professors, bosses, men in authority in my life, make advances or crude remarks to me. Over the years I developed a real distrust in men. Because of the situation with my uncle, I even had difficulty trusting men in my family. Some of the situations I have had in my life have been serious enough to cause deep wounds and large scars. I am so very thankful to God for sending me Tom. He knew I needed someone who was firm in his faith, knew right from wrong, and who was trustworthy, because I did not trust men.
The deep wounds became the deep pit in which I found myself. Three years ago it all came to a head. I began having insomnia. For over 2 years I would sleep 3 or 4 hours a night and I would lay awake replaying my past over and over and over and over, well you get the idea, in my mind.
The lack of sleep and the torment began to affect me mentally, emotionally and physically. If any of you have experienced insomnia, you know that you get to where you cannot think clearly simply because of the fatigue. The fatigue then magnifies any issues you are dealing with. I then began a downward spiral. The insomnia intensified, my mind was consumed almost constantly with the issues of my past, and then my health started failing. It was at this point I had to get out of the pit. Now begins the glorious journey!
My father was killed in a car wreck before I was born. My mother worked hard and raised me by herself, she was and is an awesome mother. When I was 5 I was molested (not raped) by an uncle by marriage. When I was about 9, I was molested by a friend of the family. I accepted the Lord as my savior at the age of 9 and began my Christian walk. This was very timely, because without Him there is no telling where I would be. My mother and I moved from Missouri to Florida when I was 10. We moved away from all of our family, all we had was each other and some friends who were stationed at Eglin Air Force base. I began attending First Baptist Church in Niceville, Florida. The church and the youth program would be a stabilizing force in my life during some very tough times ahead. It was 1970 and some of my friends became involved in drugs. It seemed as though God always pulled me back when I would get a little too far away. I broke off those friendships.
In 7th grade one of my teachers became like a surrogate father to me. Later, after I became an adult I went to visit him, and he made sexual advances to me. Seeing how I am only up to the 7th grade in this blog, I will start being more general or this is going to be very long. Throughout college and my years in the workforce I have had professors, bosses, men in authority in my life, make advances or crude remarks to me. Over the years I developed a real distrust in men. Because of the situation with my uncle, I even had difficulty trusting men in my family. Some of the situations I have had in my life have been serious enough to cause deep wounds and large scars. I am so very thankful to God for sending me Tom. He knew I needed someone who was firm in his faith, knew right from wrong, and who was trustworthy, because I did not trust men.
The deep wounds became the deep pit in which I found myself. Three years ago it all came to a head. I began having insomnia. For over 2 years I would sleep 3 or 4 hours a night and I would lay awake replaying my past over and over and over and over, well you get the idea, in my mind.
The lack of sleep and the torment began to affect me mentally, emotionally and physically. If any of you have experienced insomnia, you know that you get to where you cannot think clearly simply because of the fatigue. The fatigue then magnifies any issues you are dealing with. I then began a downward spiral. The insomnia intensified, my mind was consumed almost constantly with the issues of my past, and then my health started failing. It was at this point I had to get out of the pit. Now begins the glorious journey!
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