Like many others, I, too, am a child of divorce. My father was an alcoholic who abused my mother. My father finally drank too much one night and ran off the road, dying upon impact with a pole. Years later my mother remarried, and I found myself among this whole other family and I didn’t fit in there. I would go to vacation bible school with them, though, and that with occasional visits to church was my experience. I prayed once with a preacher, mostly agreeing but not understanding what it all really meant. Life went on as usual til 7th grade and things got worse in my life. I made good grades but worse in a different way. Life was chaotic in most every other way and sometimes my parents got into arguments. I struggled a lot then with who I was and who I was supposed to be. I remember crying a lot. I had friends who really weren’t friends…
I remember sometimes the drama being unbearable. One day I met this girl. I helped her study for a test or something. She was a Christian and we became friends. She was so different from other people I called my friend. She talked to me and answered my questions about what following Jesus meant. She took me to her church. Sometimes I was defensive but still, I asked questions. One night on the phone, I just felt it. I knew then that I had never accepted God’s gift of grace. I had never truly asked forgiveness of my sins. I knew that I needed to stop what I was doing and ask, “‘Jesus, please forgive me; I know you’re there. I know what you want me to do. I know you died and for me. I want to follow you and have you in my heart.” It was simple, but I knew that night that I HAD to do it. There was no delaying it any longer. I don’t even know if we were talking about God or not that night.
That night changed my life. When I stopped praying, I told my friend immediately and I’d never before felt such pure love come into my heart. It’s like God was hugging me from the inside (that’s honestly the only way I could describe that feeling). Fastforwarding, I was in church and then got out again eventually but then in college, I came back to church. Among other things, I realized more fully and began living out the fact that I have a purpose and a direction in Christ. Life now? Not perfect but satisfied with the fact that when I lack, HE IS. When I am out of compassion and love or anxious or angry, HE IS. Being able to live in and rest in that truth has been liberating.
Posted in Divorce Impacted my Life, Someone Else's Life Impacted Mine , No Comments »
I grew a child of divorce in the 70’s and 80’s. We went to church here and there,but I had no real connection to God. In the early 80’s I was playing music with my dad in country/50’s rock band.He was dating a lady who attended church and sometimes we went with her. There was a special service, and Rosie Grier was speaking. I was a Steelers fan so he had my attention. He spoke of sin and the penalty of it, and that we were all guilty. He told us that God had sent his Son to die in our place. He gave an invitation to accept this free gift of salvation,which I eagerly accepted. I thought I had this part of my life taken care of…business as usual, right…
Life went on and I had no one to tell me what do as far as what following Christ looked like. As I got into highschool I started hanging with the wrong crowd, experimenting with alcohol and drugs. I got out of highschool, started work, and later on went to Spartanburg Tech for welding. I had been dating this girl, whom I later married. The drugs and alcohol continued as well as a lack of church involvement. At different times in my life over the years God’s quiet voice spoke to my heart in the strangest of places (in a bar for example). He would say, “What are you doing here in this place? You don’t belong here.”
I got to a point where I was ready to settle down and get right with God. She didn’t want to do that. It just got worse and worse with the drugs and alcohol and the cheating on her part. We ended up divorced. It was at this point that I began to look to the Lord, and I recommitted my life to the Lord at the age of 24-25. Since then I have been all over the world for Jesus on short-term missions trips. During this period I met the girl who 8 years later would become the love of my life and then my wife. I also serve in the student ministry as a bible fellowship teacher/drummer in the worship band. My life has been turned upside down by Jesus, but when the world is upside down, it takes Jesus to turn it right side up.
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I grew up in a small town called Pennsburg, PA. I was raised by good moral parents who rarely went to church.I had a brother and 2 sisters who were 10,12,and14 years younger than I.My parents never talked about God and even ridiculed our Christian neighbors. I always felt it was a good thing to believe in God. I might have gotten these thoughts from Sunday School, where My mother sent me when I was 4. I especially remember Joseph and his many colored coat. I’m sure that Sunday School was a big influence on me since I always prayed to God as I was growing up, but didn’t read my Bible or understand about salvation.
When I was 20 years old, my father died. I know the Holy Spirit used this event to really get my attention. When my Dad died( I was with him) I had a strong feeling that there was something I needed to say to him, but I did not know what it was. This troubled me for 9 years. I kept wondering where my Dad was. After I married Roger and had a son, we attended a United Church of Christ. But I wasn’t getting answers to some of the moral questions that I had. We went to a Billy Graham movie, and that is where I first heard the true Biblical facts about death and Jesus dying for our sins according to John 3:16. I began to understand that I had never accepted Christ as Rev. Graham said everyone must do for eternal salvation. At that point, Roger and I went forward on the invitation to accept and believe.
From that point on, God led us on from The Grace Brethern Church, where we heard our first preaching on Revelation, and where we were baptized 3 times. Eventually, through cicumstances, God took us to Calvary Baptist Church in Lansdale, PA, where we were again baptized in the true biblical way like Jesus was, and we remained there for 30 years until we moved to S.C. 4 years ago and joined FBNS. The Lord took care of us, taught us much, had us put our 3 children in the church’s Christian School where they learned biblical truths and living. They all 3 grew up to live godly, moral lives, which is our greatest blessing. The Lord has sustained us, helped us, and has always been there to take us through the trials and storms of this life, of which there are many. He has promised to take us to heaven because we have accepted the gift of His Son, dying in our place, so we can enjoy life eternally. I consider my life a success because I have done the most valuable important thing any person can do–and that is believing Jesus died for me, and making Him LORD of my life.
Posted in Salvation , No Comments »
I grew up in a Christian home. I was baptized as a young girl when I was 6 years old. I have spent all of my adult life trying to do what is right. For the past ten years, I have been heavily involved in church including bible studes, sunday school, missions trips and choir. I have always wanted to know Jesus intimately but never felt like I could get there.
There has been always something missing. My husband would always encourage me to read the Bible so that I could know God. But even with reading the emptiness was still there. I had prayed the sinner’s prayer hundreds of times over the years but never felt a peace in my heart. Finally one of my friends told me, “There is a big difference between praying the sinners prayer for fear of hell and praying for Christ to be Lord of your life.” This hit me like a ton of bricks.
I needed to settle this once and for all so I went to First North and met with the women’s counselor and I nailed down my salvation. This meant believing Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins, was buried and rose again, admitting I was a sinner, and asking Jesus to be Lord of my life. The next church service, when the invitation was given, I didn’t feel any need to pray the prayer. It had been settled.
Posted in I Grew Up in Church, I was Searching for More , No Comments »
My name is Kaylee. I am 8 years old. Before I became a Christian, I felt empty inside. I didn’t feel like I was special.
Then one day I was in the car with my mom and Tyler, my brother. I told Tyler I wanted to ask Jesus to come into my heart. He told me I needed to close my eyes and pray to God. He said to repeat what he said in my prayer. And I asked Jesus into my heart.
Since that time, I have felt more loved. I treat people the way I want to be treated.
Posted in A Child's Story , 1 Comment »
