Today's is about testimonies. The reading was the first 32 verses of Psalm 107. All of these Psalms are personal testimonies of someone or group being saved and then giving thanks. All of the testimonies follow a pattern: Distress, Desperate Cry to the Lord for help, Divine deliverance, and then all are ended with "Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men."
The author challenged us to give our testimony today and show the same pattern.
I am afraid my testimony is not all that interesting. I was not rescued from anything absolutely terrible other than just 'regular old sin', but that is enough for me and I am eternally grateful for it!
I was born an Air Force 'bratt' on an Air Force base in Clovis, NM. My dad was a navigator and my mom stayed at home with my brother (only 12 months older than me) and I. Life was pretty normal until my mom was killed in a car accident we were in while visiting family back in Nebraska over the holidays. I was 3. Long story short, my dad decided it would be best for my brother and I to have a more stable life than moving all over the country to AF bases with a pilot. My dad's brother and his wife agreed to help raise us, so we went to live with them and their, then 3 month old daughter in Nebraska. My dad visited often and was a very active part of our lives.
So, we were raised in a Lutheran home, since that is where my aunt went to church. I grew up knowing about Jesus and the Bible and really did believe all of it. I can't really remember a time that I ever questioned it, but as I got older, I could tell I was missing something. However, I had no clue what it was because I didn't have anyone around to tell me. I always wanted to read the Bible and find out more, but I just didn't know where to begin or what to do with it to get farther into it. So, I just stayed content with where I was.
I wasn't a rebellious child by any means. I was active in every single school activity there was and graduated with a very high GPA, although I can't tell you now what it was... (Funny how those types of things aren't so important 12 years later.) But, I was from a very small town and in small towns there isn't much to do, so we had parties in pastures...I drank a little, at these parties and with friends occasionally, but nothing that was life altering (and I never got caught).
I always had a pretty serious boyfriend all through high school as well. Thankfully, I had made the promise to myself and God to wait until I was married to have sex. I am so thankful that God put this on my heart at such a young age, because I know my life would be dramatically different now if He had not. When you have a boyfriend in high school for over 2 years it is hard to keep that commitment if it hasn't been fully set on your heart beforehand.
Anyway, that was me. Typical high school student, not too much trouble, but not completely living for God.
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| My home for 3 years of College The best place for a woman to live while attending the University of Nebraska - hands down!! |
When I went to college I was fortunate enough to be led by God again to a residence hall at the University of Nebraska. I never even questioned where I was going to live when I signed up for the University because this is where my Grandmother and another aunt lived when they attended UNL as well. Love Memorial Hall was where I would meet women who really knew what it was like to be in love with Jesus and teach me what it meant as well. It is funny, because a girl I was working with the summer before I started college told me that she didn't think I would like Love Hall because I didn't fit the "Bible Beater" or "Virgin Vault" nicknames the hall was known for. I am so glad, I didn't let this deter me.
It was simply through watching these girls and attending church with them that I really figured out what it was to truly have a relationship with Jesus. I can honestly say that I have always been a Christian. I have always truly believed that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, but somewhere around October of 1999 I decided to change a few of my bad habits (social drinking and chasing boys - since I was single for the first time since my freshman year in high school). I started really studying my Bible and learning what it was like to further develop my beliefs into a relationship.
So, I thank you Julie, Audrey and Jodi for being great Christian examples to me and helping me find what I knew was missing. And, most of all, thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for ME!
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