What I Know Now

One of the blogs I've started following recently is having a blog link-up to share stories of life lessons to share with others so I thought I'd share mine:

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

 

I became a christian at a young age but for years no one would have known that, or maybe even believed it if I had told them. See, I felt like once I had accepted Christ I was done and could do whatever I wanted after that safe in the knowledge that I was saved. What I know now is that I wasted years of my life pursuing things that brought me little joy when I could have had the peace and joy that comes from having a relationship with God. I had traded the truth of God for a lie and eventually my lukewarm lifestyle caught up with me. I was burned out from trying to do it all on my own and not sure where to turn.

 

I remember being so overwhelmed with everything that I wished I had my own sensory deprivation chamber that I could hide in to escape the world! Unfortunately, I didn't have one at my disposal so one night when I just couldn't take any more I did the next best thing, I shut off all the lights, the TV and everything else and just lay on my couch in the dark wondering if I was going crazy. At first it was weird just laying there, then kind of relaxing, and all of a sudden the most amazing thing happened. A commercial for a church in my area popped in my head and in an instant I knew what was missing. A relationship with my Savior! It was time for this prodigal daughter to come home.

 

That was years ago and I can't say that since then everything's been easy or that I don't sometimes need a reminder of who is in charge but what I know now is that if you're feeling overwhelmed & weary, it's time to stop trying to do it on your own. Lay your burden down & turn to your Heavenly Father for rest.

Linking to:

 



My Testimony

I struggled with this post a bit, ok...a lot, because although I've lived my testimony, I've never shared it other than in brief conversations. I hope that by writing this down I and others can see how God has been working in my life even when I wasn't aware of His presence and that it will help me to share the way that God has become the source and strength of everything I do now.
I was raised in the church but had ran into the world as fast as I could fallen away during college. I tried doing things my way for many years but that just left me lost, frustrated and crying for help. I started feeling God's call in my life several years ago and was getting back into church when my friend's daughter was in a serious accident that nearly took her life.
The accident had a profound effect on me and I started thinking about my children and the "age of accountability", something that I'd heard of before but didn't really know anything about so I started seeking answers from God's word. We joined Fellowship of the Woodlands where my oldest daughter was baptized in June of 2008.
A short time later my grandmother's church in the country partnered with a small church in my neighborhood for GA camp and my daughter was invited. After camp we started taking her there for GA's on Wednesday nights and soon we started coming on Sundays as well. North Woods Baptist welcomed us as family and had such an amazing focus on God that we knew that this is where we were meant to be.
I was baptized when I was 8 but was ready to rededicate my life so when my husband became a Christian we chose to be baptized together as a public symbol of our new life in Christ.
The story doesn't end there. Actually this is where it begins and I will add to it, God willing as He allows as we live out His word in our daily lives.