| Testimonials Page |
| Here's how this works: you write down, or email your testimony, and I will post it here for all to see. |
| tes·ti·mo·ny (tĕs'tə-mō'nē): A public declaration regarding a religious experience. |
| To give you an example, my Testimony is listed below. |
| I was not raised to be a Christian, I don't even remember ever seeing any of my family members pray. I do remember some of them saying that they believed in God, but no one actually ever really showed it. I actually learned about God by being forced to go to Sunday Schools & Bible Schools at many different churches. I finally started to enjoy the experience, but I never understood why my parents didn't go with me. My parents divorced when I was only 7, and we basically lived a pretty rough life after that. My Mom worked a lot, and we also received some welfare for a while. I remember hot summer nights without electricity, or cold water. I remember having no water at all on some occasions. There were times when we had to eat green beans for days, or whatever Mom was able to bring home from her job. She worked at a small restaurant in Williamsburg, Ohio, 12 hour days. She barely made enough to pay our bills, let alone buy food. My Dad hardly ever came around, but he did give us money whenever he did. The only hope I had was when my younger sister and I would go to our Grandma's or Aunt's. As bad as we had it, we never really noticed it. We were pretty happy kids. As time went by, I started really getting into the church thing, my family still laughs about how extreme I was to this very day. I don't remember too much about those days, because I was under the age of 10. They said I would wear long dresses, carry my Bible around, & tell them they were all going to go to Hell if they didn't stop the bad things they were doing. I only remember bits & pieces of those days, but somehow the things I now realize were the most important, really did stick with me. As I got older, and into my teenage years, I started to question God. I had a pretty rough life up to that point, and I thought it was all his fault. I actually started reading Witchcraft books, and considering the Wiccan lifestyle. I thought that as long as I stayed away from the "bad" magic, and just practiced the "good", that everything would be fine. Boy was I stupid. None of that stuff ever worked, so finally I hit rock bottom as far as faith goes. I became an atheist. I even started to wonder if we came from aliens. Don't ask me where I got this crazy idea, but at the time I seriously considered it! It was during this time that I started acting out in school, smoking weed, & drinking. I never did a whole lot, but even a little is too much. It was during this time that my Mom & some of her sisters were at a family gathering, and were talking about God. I actually heard my Mom say that she knew there was a God, because she would never had made it this far without him. Then her sisters agreed, they actually got mad at me when I told them I didn't believe in God. I just thought that all of them were hypocrites, because I had it in my mind that to be a Christian you had to be perfect. Again, I was wrong. Around this same time, my Mom was about to finally get some peace in her life, and my life was about to be changed forever. I became pregnant with my son at age 16, and of course my Mom was NOT happy. Although, it was not uncommon for women in my family to get pregnant at young ages, so I wasn't the first. My family never believed in abortion, and adoption was out of the question too. I was set on having the baby from the very first moment I knew I was carrying him. Little did I know at that time, that he would be my saving grace. At this time, my mom was working her behind off at the restaurant, and barely able to put food on the table for us, let alone another addition. A miracle happened that year, and she met who is now my Step Dad. Not only did he treat her better than any other man had, but he was well grounded, had a great job, his own home, and 2 daughters. They ended up getting married, and we finally had a stable home environment. At the age of 17, I gave birth to Tre. I was young & inexperienced, but I did a great job. There were some hard times, lack of sleep, and fights with Tre's father, but I survived it. That little boy kept me out of so much trouble. A lot of the friends I had were into drugs & partying, and I had a child to take care of. That kept me from doing a lot of bad things that most people that were my age did. Around this time I also started listening to my Step Grandparents, my Step Grandpa was a minister in his younger years. He taught me a lot of things, and opened my mind to the word of God. I still doubted my faith at that time though, so while I kept my ears open, my heart was closed to the ideas. I finally got out on my own, and seemed to be in a boring, lonely, stage of my life for the next 5 years. During this time, I dated a couple of guys, but nothing serious. They turned out to be drug addicts or not ready for commitment. I was at my Mom's when ever possible, and overstayed my welcome quite a few times. My parents were having a difficult time with my sister, and they wanted me to learn to live on my own. Finally, after years of dating the wrong men, I met my husband. We didn't meet at a very good place to tell our grandchildren about, but if we had not both been there at the same time, we would not be together today. Both of us were encouraged by our friends to go to this little hole in the wall bar in Georgetown. It wasn't our first time there, but it wasn't exactly a place we wanted to frequent. From the first time I saw him, I knew I had to get to know him. We dated for a while, and got engaged. One day we were having a serious talk, and he brought up the religion subject. He knew how I felt about it all, but he wanted to make sure I knew how he felt. He wanted me to burn my Quija board (which was a stupid game anyway), and a couple of Witchcraft books I had gotten from a friend. I threw a big fit about this, because even though I didn't use that stuff, it was a matter of pride for me at that time. Well, the next day while he was at work, I threw them into the wood stove, and that was the end of it! I still was not ready to accept God though, and it would take a little while longer to reach that point. I started going to church every once in a while with my Mother-in-law, and for the first time really noticing what it was all about. I will admit though, at first I was freaked out by the loud preaching & praying. The churches I went to as child had none of that. I got pregnant around this time, and we finally got married July 26, 2003. I was 2 months pregnant that day, and had been terribly sick during my pregnancy. Somehow on my wedding day I was healed (for a day), and it was the best day of my life! A little while after our wedding, not sure what the date was, I was watching Joyce Meyer's Enjoying Everyday Life on t.v., and during her Invitational, I accepted Jesus into my life. It was the best decision I've ever made. Something about that broadcast that day touched me, like nothing else was able to do. People can say all they want about women preachers, but I will testify that woman reached through what no one else was ever able to do. I was able to relate to her, and when you are as lost as I was, you need someone like that! Here I am today, I have 2 beautiful children, a good husband, I attend church regularly, and I have a wonderful new family~ my church family. I just wish that I could have done this a long time ago, the Lord got to me all those years ago, when I was jumping from church to church & preaching to my family as a kid. People, take your children to church, even if you think they aren't enjoying it, or learning it, they are. They will remember it when they are grown, and if they make the right decision, they will do the same with their own children! I hope this has helped someone, or at least touched someone's heart. If anyone ever needs a friend, or is maybe having a hard time with their children, please feel free to talk to me. I have seen a lot in my 27 years, and I have a lot to offer. Thanks for listening to my Testimony! |
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