Pivotal Circumstances - testimony part 5

Well...this is the last part of this 5 part testimony. And to be honest, I am so glad to end on this particular part. As I ponder all of these 5 points, this is one that God has used maybe the most for me. I would venture out to say that most of us can put our finger on at least one PIVOTAL CIRCUMSTANCE where we were forced to look in God's direction. May it be a job loss, the death of someone, a miscarriage, an illness or some other event that caused us to turn toward God and grow because of it. Often PIVOTAL CIRCUMSTANCES are negative events that bring us to our knees in obedience to our Maker.

Again, I have more than one event that comes to mind, but I will share about one. I have touched on this before but I have to mention it again in light of my testimony. I am one of the many women that has struggled with infertility. There was a time in my life that more than anything, I longed to become a mom. And even though that was the desire of my heart and a prayer of mine, it wasn't a quick and easy answer. It was a season of my life that was one of the hardest things I have ever gone through. Longing for something, feeling like this was a calling on your life, and yet not being blessed in the area of children. I mentioned my prayer journal before, and at this time, it was full of crying out to God, longing for a positive answer and having to accept God's answer of not now. During this season of my life, I was learning to want God's will more than mine. Learning to trust in His perfect timing. Learning to lean on His strength and not my own. Learning to truly accept it, if the answer was no.

I look back on it and to be honest, it is still painful to think about. I am so thankful that God did allow us the blessing of children. And a blessing they truly are. God grew my faith in leaps and bound in those years. Such hard growing times, but I am so thankful that God allowed me to go through those hard times. I am a different person because of it, and hopefully a better mom to my children. God knew the right time for me to enter motherhood, and we are still trusting Him if it is His will to grow our family. So far, our 2 girls are our current blessings, but if the Lord wills we are looking to Him to bless again. It may not be in our time, or with our ideas, but I know that God knows what is best for us. Again, learning to trust, learning to wait, learning to want God's will more than my own.

Still hoping that some of you out there will share at least one point of your testimony, an area that God used to grow your faith. May it be PRACTICAL TEACHING, PROVIDENTIAL RELATIONSHIPS, PRIVATE DISCIPLINES, PERSONAL MINISTRY OR PIVOTAL CIRCUMSTANCES.

Private Disciplines - testimony part 3

OK friends, we are halfway there with the 5 points of my testimony. Hopefully you are staying with me and enjoying getting to know me in a new way. As I mentioned before, this sermon series that I recently heard mentioned 5 different areas that God tends to use to grow our faith. Most people can point to one or more of these in their own life that God has used to draw them closer to Him. As I heard this series I thought of different examples for each of these and I really liked thinking through my testimony in these categories.

This third area is PRIVATE DISCIPLINES. Some examples of these PRIVATE DISCIPLINES might be where your faith really grew after you were more consistent with alone time with God, or daily prayer time or maybe even fasting or tithing to God. Again, I can share about a few of these that have been significant areas of growth for me. Looking back over the years, a PRIVATE DISCIPLINE that God has used is prayer journaling. I have often kept a prayer journal where I write down my prayers to God, where I cry out to Him. Not just a list of requests, but actually writing out the prayer as I was praying it. As I read back through these prayer journals, I see such a variety of different highs and lows, trials and blessings and how through it all I was learning to communicate to my heavenly Father. I was learning to go to Him instead of going to a friend, or a family member. I was learning that God is faithful, that His Word is true. Learning to invest in the most important relationship. I have kept all those prayer journals and they are like precious love letters, like a window into my connections with God.

I have often desired to have a deeper prayer life. I have been challenged to take God's Word at face value and spend time in secret prayer with God each day. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. I still have a ways to go on this area. I know that God is still growing me here, and I have learned that growing pains hurt a bit.

Providential Relationships - testimony part 2

Thought I would add part 2 to my testimony here on the blog. As I share a little bit of each of these 5 areas that tend to be ways or tools that God uses to grow our faith, you might find yourself thinking about your own personal testimony. Let me challenge you to share your testimony on your blog (if you have one). I remember one day clicking from blog to blog and I found one that had a side button that basically said "Click HERE for my testimony". Of course I clicked and was immediately blessed to read about how God had worked in some one's life to draw them closer to Him. I still follow that blog to this day and it has been neat to see God continually work in that person's life.

As I think back through different relationships that I have had with people, there is one in particular that I think of as a PROVIDENTIAL RELATIONSHIP. Now I am sure I could go on and on about different friends that have influenced me in positive ways, but I want to share about just one PROVIDENTIAL RELATIONSHIP. This is a person that God put in my path, that forever changed my future. Kind of like a God ordained connection.

I already shared in part one of my testimony that I grew up in a positive Christian home and we were involved in different churches along the years. When I was in high school, we were attending a church with an active youth group and that youth group is where I found most of my close friends and connections. When I was a freshman, I approached a youth leader (not even the youth pastor, just a lay leader) to see if she would be interested in "mentoring" or disciplining me. She graciously said yes and that began a PROVIDENTIAL RELATIONSHIP. We met almost every Saturday morning, often with another friend of mine, for breakfast. We went through different Bible study type books from time to time, in fact I don't really remember any one in particular. I just remember our times together. Where she encouraged me and spurred me on to a deeper relationship with Christ. God used that friendship in a significant way to give me a thirst for the Word and a hunger for that close relationship with Himself. I saw in her a woman who loved her Lord and lived for Him.

I am grateful for the time that my dear friend Lesli took to invest in me. I know it was a sacrifice on her part. Time away from her family and her life. Time to spend with an awkward teen age girl who was trying to find her way.

I love how God allows us to walk along the path with others in life and do life together. It makes me think of 2 things. One, I need to be willing to invest in others. To take them out, and treat them to a meal every now and then. To be interested in someone other than myself. To hopefully be that kind of an example to someone else. Two, I need to make sure I expose my kids to others that can be that kind of an influence on them. Not to feel threatened by the friendship, but grateful for the person who will invest in them and be their PROVIDENTIAL RELATIONSHIP.

Practical Teaching - testimony part 1

I have recently heard a sermon series on 5 points that grow our faith. It has been interesting to hear these 5 different things that God tends to use to increase our relationship with Him. After listening to this series, I thought it might be nice to share my testimony on my blog here. I always find it really interesting to hear about how someone has grown closer to God, it somehow opens a new door to their inner thoughts and situations. So I will share a little bit about these 5 things in my own life.

The first point I will share about is PRACTICAL TEACHING. I was actually born on the mission field (my parents were missionaries in another country) and I grew up as a pastors daughter (my dad had several churches when I was little). I have been surrounded by godly, christian influences and PRACTICAL TEACHING my whole life. And all of that definitely had an influence on me and my personal relationship with God.

I am a product of going to public school my whole life and when I graduated high school I wanted to attend a Bible college. I always wanted to go to a christian school and it never worked out for me for my younger years so I was grateful when God opened the door to attend a Bible college. I wanted a place where I would be surrounded by lots of biblical teaching. I chose a Bible college in the south where my sister was attending (loved it when I went to visit her). And it was in this college where I met Chuck.

All of these things were definitely influences in my life, but the biggest one was yet to come. I have shared before about how I have really enjoyed Precepts Bible studies (and even more recently the Precepts study online). About a year ago, I did my first Precepts Bible study in the book of Daniel and it was fantastic. I have really enjoyed the style of study with looking for key words and phrases and marking the text with colors. I have enjoyed listening to Kay Arthur daily on the computer or on the local TV station. It has been good for me to saturate myself in the truth of God's Word. It really has been a significant influence on my relationship with God, learning more about Him and responding in obedience to the truths.

I will be honest, it takes time and endurance. In the last year I have studied the book of Daniel (took about 5 months), did a study called "Life in the Spirit", book of Ephesians, America at the Crossroads, and now I am still studying Isaiah (since early fall). It takes discipline to get my studies out and carve out the time in my schedule to sit down and open my notebook and study the text, and then take the time to listen to Kay share on the text. There are times I don't want to do it, or times I get busy, but I am gently called back to the Word. And because of that, my life will forever be changed. For my life, God has used this tool as a way to draw me ever closer to Him. I don't think I could have endured last year (which was one of the hardest years of my life) without the depth of studying God's word.

So I do agree that PRACTICAL TEACHING has been a tool in my life that God has used to make me more of who He longs for me to be. Next, I plan on sharing about PROVIDENTIAL RELATIONSHIPS, people that God has used to mold me.