Testimony. Have you thought it through?

Having just read Shannon's blog, this really had permeated my mind today and has inspired me to really reevaluate things and write some stuff out!

A few weeks ago at Women's Bible study, our group leader challenged us to share our testimony. The room went silent! Having gone through the Partners Discipleship Program with church, I'd had to share my testimony with my friend Chiara who was taking me through the book. It's still a work in progress :)

Here's my testimony:
I grew up in a Christian home but I know that doesn't make me a Christian. I went to church every Sunday as a kid, again, doesn't make me a Christian. The church I went to was very much into "the sinners prayer" which you won't find written out in the Bible. As friends around me were getting saved, I came to my parents and asked them, how do I become a Christian? At 11 years old, I had a desire in my heart to become a Christian. I knew that there was heaven and hell and knew that Jesus had died on the cross to save me from sin. My parents helped lead me to the Lord through reading me scripture, praying with me and having me pray on my own, making sure that this life of becoming a Christian was what I really wanted. In March of 1992, I got baptized. This gave me a feeling of freshness, a symbol to me of being buried with Christ in His death and then raised to walk in a new life. I grew up believing that my heart had be washed of my sin through baptism.

In High School, through AWANA Scholarship Camp is when I really started to take my faith seriously. The speaker showed 2 Ray Boltz videos. The images were of a man and his son, imprisoned in modern day, because he believed in God. Another video a man was taken to trial and with the scales on the desk, they measured to see if there was enough evidence in his life to convict him of being a Christian. This pierced me. I pictured my life. Would there be enough evidence in my life to prove that I'm a Christian? I cried and I remember rededicating my life to Him.

Since then, I've tried to live a life that would show that, I believe in God, that I'm a Christian saved by faith and by grace, and that I live my life for Him.

I came home from Camp that year and put my faith in to practice. I started serving whole heartedly in our AWANA program, having a great desire for Jr. High kids to come to know Him. I felt that's such a trying time for kids, going through so many changes in life, you want to guide them on the right path. I reevaluated the relationships I had with people. Are these friends who are helping my walk or hindering my walk? I made a dating standards checklist for guys to determine who I would go out with. I trusted God with my future, having Him direct my path out of High School.

At 20, while serving on the worship team at church, God blessed me with Robby, my husband of 6 years. He's the answer to my prayers. Through everything we've been through in our marriage, God has proven to be faithful to us both and bless us in our life together. We're continually growing together in our walks, we serve together, and we're developing more of a relationship with Him. We have the same goal, to know God, to serve God and now to raise our children to know and serve Him too.

Here are the Ray Boltz videos that had such a deep impact on me.
"One Drop Of Blood"


"I Pledge Allegiance To The Lamb"


Definition of Allegiance: Commitment, the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action.