Thank you and Switching Gears a Little-A Testimony of God's Grace

First I want to thank everyone who took the time to stop by and visit me and leave a comment.  I appreciate it very much.  As you know, I'm new to blogging.  As I said in my first post, I'm wasn't sure in what direction to take this blog.  I have a little poll on the side bar of this blog, and so far the vote is leaning more toward a blog full of knitting and family life.  So, I will endeavor to do both.  I don't just visit knitting blogs, so I know I won't have just knitters visiting my blog.  So I'm going to switch gears a little.  I'll try to keep the titles and labels consistent with the content of the posts, so if it's something that doesn't interest you, you can come back tomorrow, (please). ^_^


I have a lot to say, and can be long winded, so that should make for frequent posting.  LOL   For this post I'm going to introduce myself in a little more detail. I decided to post my God's testimony of how I came to be a Christian.  I hope in some way this can bless and encourage another sister.  If you Christian sisters know of someone who is living in, or lived in a similar background to what I describe below, feel free to share this with them, (you don't have to point them to my blog, you can copy and paste it if you'd like).


More knitting content tomorrow, Lord willing.


Thank you for visiting!


This is a long story "short"


I think I will give a little background first. I'm the oldest, born in 1973. I have
a brother who is 11 months younger than me, who is very dear to me. My dad was a
police officer, he retired as Deputy Chief of police in 2005. My mom is an RN. They
divorced when I was 8. My dad remarried when I was 12. They had a son, who was two
at the time of the wedding. We never saw my dad date, or my mom, and my dad had
custody of me and my brother. My mom moved to Florida for a couple of years after
the divorce, but came back, so we would live between the two.


My mom was catholic, so when we were with her we went to catholic services, when we
were with Dad, an AME church occasionally. We did have a little exposure to baptist
services, but I had never heard of being saved. We were baptized secretly in the
catholic church, (so my dad wouldn't know). All I knew of God growing up, was that
murderers went to hell, and everyone else went to heaven. My parents were loving,
and firm. They raised me to be very moral, I wasn't allowed to participate in
"normal" teenage things my friends did. Dad said I could date at 16, but if I did,
the boy had to call first and talk to him. Dad would run his name downtown, and if
he came up clear he could call me. Needless to say, I didn't date, and one brave
boy, who was considered a "nerd" at school called.


At 16.5 I ran away from my dad's house for freedom at Mom's. She was more lenient,
and didn't keep close tabs on us, (I knew this because my brother lived there). I
immediately rebelled against what my dad taught me. I started drinking, smoking,
(cigarettes and marijuana), and hanging out with the wrong crowd. I looked for the
most ghetto men I could find to date. At 17 I met a man who was 7 years older than
me, (I believed he was 19 like he told me). He was very jealous and would beat me.
I would lie to mom, hid the bruises, etc..., mostly because I was scared, mostly
because I was "in love". I was pregnant before I graduated high school. We had two
sons together, and after a lot of heartache, beatings, etc..., I finally ended the
relationship. I was 20. I went to school, worked nights, and did my best with my
boys. 


Then I met my now husband. We dated for a while, and then he moved in, I was soon expecting my third child.
We were attending the baptist church his family did, and when I became pregnant, I
asked the pastor if I could step down out of the choir and nurse's board, he said
no, they would not kick me when I was down, but embrace me in my sin. I think this
is when the Lord first started dealing with me. I knew that was wrong. I would pray
some from my catholic background, and I remember always asking the Lord to lead me
on the right path, (not really knowing what that meant). We had a marriage license,
and planned to get married, but called it off when we couldn't get the plans
together to please everyone.


In the meantime, I had a close cousin, (though she was 8 years older than me), who
had gotten saved and was going to a church of God in Jackson, MI. She had found a new
church when she saw things she didn't like in Jackson. She moved to Dayton, OH to
be close to the new chuch. Her husband had recently divorced her, (she was his 3rd
wife), and was suing her for custody of their four children, (over home schooling
all of a sudden after 11 years of marriage, he didn't agree to it anymore and he
was a certified teacher). Her children were given to him and his 4th wife and she
had a court date in Toledo to see if she could get the children back. I went, and
so did her new church.


I had never seen any kind of plain people before. I was touched by their spirit and
modesty and though I hadn't read the Bible, I thought they must live it. The Lord
really started dealing with me then, and I had a lot of questions. I had an old
Bible and started reading. I started making small changes in my life, but was still
living with my boyfriend. This was Oct. In Dec, I went to Dayton for my first
service. I don't remember what the minister preached on, but I felt a great weight
on my shoulder, (which was there before I even got to church), and felt as if I was
surrounded by a large gray cloud, this started small, but got heaveir from Oct
until the first went to services there. I didn't need a “salvation message”, the
Lord had already brought conviction upon me. I hadn't heard of a prayer bench, but
with my cousin's encouragement went to pray there at the alter. All I remember was
crying, telling the Lord I was sorry, I wanted Him to forgive me, and I wanted to
be a good example for my children. I don't know what else I said, but when I got
up, the whole world looked different. I felt I had new glasses on. The grass was
greener, the sky bluer, sun brighter, etc...


That was Dec 28, 1997 I went home, and told my husband we had to get married that
week. I called the baptist preacher and asked to be married Wed., he asked if I
could wait until Sat. I said "I guess". My husband slept on the couch until then. I
didn't tell my husband until a few days before the wedding, that I got saved. I
told him that my cousin, said I shouldn't marry him as because we would be
unequally yoked. I told him I saw no difference (I was so ignorant about spiritual matters). He agreed. We wed Jan 3, 1998.


It was not easy. As I grew in the Lord, I saw the difficulties I had to face. I
never invited my husband to service with me, (I would drive 2.5 hours weekly to
Dayton). A year later, he agreed to move closer to the church for me. My cousin
invited him one Thurs, and he said yes. I was shocked. The Lord had been dealing
with him, and two months later he got saved! 14 months after me.
The Lord has brought me through many, many deep waters, and I stand amazed and in
awe at His power!


By the grace of God, I will continue to live for Him and serve Him the rest of my
life. He saved me from A LOT, I'm so glad to live my life for His glory.


I'm Happy, Redeemed and Free!

The Lord recently, (June 09) led me into a better understanding of the spiritual and literal application of 1 Cor 11.  That was/is a huge ordeal in my like, as I continue to walk in obedience to that scripture, and I may share that in another post.  If you're interested in hearing it, leave me a comment.


I'm trying to get over my dislike for having my photo taken. This post was written at night this post at night, ( so sorry I'm in my gown), but I like seeing photos on blogs, so I want to try to share at least one picture of something per post.  



Thank you for visiting!