how has your life changed since you met Jesus?

[Guest Thomas I believe]

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I get goose bumps thinking about this question. How has my life changed since I met Jesus. Oh wow where do I start. Well when I was almost dead He picked me up and held me in His arms. He told me that He loved me, and He comforted me as the tears of repentance streamed down my cheeks the day I met Him. He has changed my life so much its hard to remember who I was but i still remember enough to know that the day that I met Jesus was life saving. My attitude is completely differant. my heart is changed forever, my life is a blessing everyday. I still have bad days as we all do, but I have my best friend with me helping me get through it. My patience has grown so much, my compassion for others is compassion I never had. I can love others now and I couldnt do that before. The emptiness I used to feel is not there as Jesus fills that. The stresses of everyday life that I use to battle are not such a battle anymore. Finances take care of themselves because He provides all that I need. His word speaks truth to my heart and there is great comfort in His truth.Wow I could go on for hours here. Now its your turn.. I cry out in Joy everyday when I wake up as I am not alone. I always know that I am safe in His arms. I always know when the storms come I stand on hard rock underneath His feathers not on shifting sand. Oh My Lord I love You so much. How has Jesus changed your life ? What does He mean to you ? Oh wow I am choked up typing this post, so much He gives us everyday. Life, Love, Peace, Life eternal with Him. Please share what Jesus has done for you.. He deserves more Praise and Glory than we can give. We are washed clean by His blood, set free into new life, Born again in Christ Jesus.. Oh My Lord I celebrate You everyday. Thank You for saving me and Loving me !!

[Can Do (Phil 4:13)]

I'll add more to this soon, but for now, I'll just say that I am much less Narsissistic (sp?) than I used to be. I love loving others and sharing my heart with them, my heart that is first and foremost full of love of Jesus. I used to be very self focused (and in many ways I still am) but now I just really want to give the Love, that I have received so readily into my heart.

I was just telling a friend of mine, how my 4 year old son (who asked the Lord into his heart 2 weeks before he turned 3years old) was leading his 2.8 year old sister to the Lord the other day. It was, I believe the Holy Sprit with them both, leading them along His Way. We often talk of the Lord and how special He is and how loving Him makes your life so much better. That my son, would want Jesus to live in the heart of his sister, really blows my human mind.

THAT is how my life has changed since I met Jesus. I NEVER dreamed my children would have such an annointing upon their beautiful lives. I could never have concieved that God would honour my tearful pleas to break the chains of bondage upon my own life, so that my children would grow in love and in freedom. I am so thankful of what He has done in my life. I am so lovingly blessed!

Wow, I wrote more than I thought I would. But Mike, you know I love a good chat

With deepest sisterly love

Faithie

[Guest Thomas I believe]

I'll add more to this soon, but for now, I'll just say that I am much less Narsissistic (sp?) than I used to be. I love loving others and sharing my heart with them, my heart that is first and foremost full of love of Jesus. I used to be very self focused (and in many ways I still am) but now I just really want to give the Love, that I have received so readily into my heart.

I was just telling a friend of mine, how my 4 year old son (who asked the Lord into his heart 2 weeks before he turned 3years old) was leading his 2.8 year old sister to the Lord the other day. It was, I believe the Holy Sprit with them both, leading them along His Way. We often talk of the Lord and how special He is and how loving Him makes your life so much better. That my son, would want Jesus to live in the heart of his sister, really blows my human mind.

THAT is how my life has changed since I met Jesus. I NEVER dreamed my children would have such an annointing upon their beautiful lives. I could never have concieved that God would honour my tearful pleas to break the chains of bondage upon my own life, so that my children would grow in love and in freedom. I am so thankful of what He has done in my life. I am so lovingly blessed!

Wow, I wrote more than I thought I would. But Mike, you know I love a good chat

[Guest His_Servant]

Praise God for both of you, and how he has changed your lives!

I think I could go on and on about where the Lord has brought me from, and each time I share my testimony, it amazes me even more. I'll share it here and try to keep it as short as possible, though it still may get a bit long LOL.

When I think about where the Lord has brought me from, I have to look all the way back to my childhood. I grew up in an abusive home that kept me in fear as a small child, but as I grew older, turned more into anger and hatred. As a child, I feared my dad so much that I couldn't bare to be alone in a room with him. He had a temper that so easily was set off, and over the most foolish of things. There were many times when he would go over the edge for no reason whatsoever, or at least, no reason that was caused by my mother and I. His punishment was most always severe.

I learned early on that he was abusive to my mom, and that was perhaps the most painful thing for me endure. There were nights when I was disturbed from my sleep by the sound of her crying and pleading with him, but he showed no mercy. He would force her to go downstairs, and I listened to her crying all the way down untill I couldn't hear well enough to know what was happening next. From the sound of her crying and the things she would say, however....I had a pretty good idea of what he was doing to her down there. Other times, I kept myself hidden and listened to their arguments. I never saw him hitting her, but I knew he was. As I grew older, horrible thoughts began to fill my mind. Many times, I imagined myself killing him, and even wondered if I should. For many years, I honestly wanted him to die. I hated him with a passion.

My mom, on the other hand, I loved dearly, even though she was mostly the one who would hurt me physically. I suppose she was taking out her anger on me, but I never loved her any less for some reason. There were times when she would ram her fist into the side of my head, hold me down on the stairway..ramming my head into it, and throw things at me. I would be so angry with her for a while, but then, I always wanted to help her. We all lived a miserable life for a long time, and there are other things that happened which I cannot even mention here.

When I got into my teens, I went looking for drugs. No one pressured me to do them. I went looking for them on my own before any of my friends were considering them. My first experience with them was in junior high, and I was also having thoughts of suicide then. There was also a time then when I confided in a teacher about the things that were going on at home. When told to the guidance counsellors, my mom was called in for a meeting. One of the counsellors knew my mom, and refused to believe I was telling the truth.

As a freshman, I done as much of whatever I could get my hands on that I could, and the possibility that I could die was of no importance to me. Thoughts of suicide were growing stronger in my mind, and I had begun to plan out how I would end my life. By my sophomore year, I began to fall apart completely. The drug abuse was finally catching up with me, and my depression was too much to bare. I hated my life, and hated myself. I felt like such a failure who deserved nothing, and made the decision to do something one day that proved to be even more addictive than any drug I had taken. In an attempt to punish myself and release some of the pain, I became extremely addicted to self mutilation. It wasn't long until I was a total mess from it. The damage I had done was nightmarish to look at. It was this that finally brought everything to the surface, however, and it was impossible for me to hide anymore. Upon the high school guidance counsellors and nurses getting permission to check me out, it wasn't long until I was on my way to a hospital. My parents attempted to keep me home for a couple of weeks, but quickly realized it was impossible for them to keep me safe from myself.

I spent eighteen days in the first hospital I was admitted to, and from there, went on to a longer term facility where I stayed well over a month. Everything was brought out, and my parents were forced to sit through the counselling and address all that we had gone through. My dad often got very angry during the sessions, and once even threatened to sign over his parental rights to me. It was a difficult time for all of us. On top of all the issues between my parents and I, I also began to look back at some of the things I went through with an uncle of mine. I won't say much about that here, but I'm sure it isn't hard to figure out. Let's just say, I knew things as a small child that no child should be aware of.

After I got out of the hospital, things were still rough between my parents and I for a while. Then, something happened one night that completely changed things...something amazing! My parents had decided to go to church one night, but I stayed home alone. I will never forget that night when they arrived back home. They came in and stood in front of me....all smiles. My mom said, "Guess what happened to us tonight?" I looked at her kinda strange, wondering if I really wanted to know or not. "We were saved!" She told me, but I just sat there staring at them.....IN SHOCK!!!! It was as though my parents had left that day, and two totally different people came back....they looked so different to me. I said nothing, but a million thoughts were going through my head. I wondered what that would mean for us.....I knew things were going to change.

I gave my life to Christ a few years after that, and it wasn't until then that I was finally able to completely let go of all I endured in my past. Before I actually took that step, there were many days and nights when I longed for the Lord so much that it honestly hurt! I knew how to pray and give my life to him, but for so many reasons, I didn't think I could. I thought the only way I would be able to overcome my fears, is if I somehow made it into a church, and had someone take my hand and lead me to the alter to pray. I was afraid and thought, if it doesn't happen this way, I will never make it alone. You know, I could asked the Lord to save me on any one of the nights I kneeled beside my bed crying out to him for help, but he had other plans in mind....plans that would help me overcome my fears, and make me see that anything is possible with him. Night after night, I prayed to him for these things to happen. I told him it was hard for me to see these things happening, but I knew he would make a way.....I knew he would answer those prayers. WELL, he did answer them. Not only did he save me, but he answered my prayers and gave me EXACTLY what I had asked him for....not leaving out one single detail. I was amazed and so full of joy, I immediately called my mom and told her the news after I got out of church that night!

Because of who I used to be and now am not....because of who my parents used ot be but now are not....because of the night he saved me and answered my cries to him in every detail...I WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!!! Because of these things and so many others, I know there is nothing impossible with our God. I may still go through trials and have struggles, and might even find myself getting a bit down from time to time, but I NEVER doubt the fact that my God will always take me through each and every valley in my life. Even if I was barely hanging on, I would know for certain that all would be just fine.

I've said this so many times, and I'll say it again....the best memories I have with my parents, are those we made after their salvation. They outweigh all the bad memories by far, and always will. Now, I love my parents dearly, and thank God for them. I still remember all that we went through, but now, it's as though I'm remembering what happened to someone else...not me. I thank my God for all the lessons he has helped me to learn from those days, and for how wonderfully he worked it all out. There was a time when the very mention of God angered me, and I wanted nothing to do with him. Still, it was him who kept me alive and arranged things to happen as they did so that the violence woudl end. There were so many times when I should have perished in my sins, but he so mercifully gave me another day. Even when I wasn't thinking of him, he was thinking of me.

God has given me hope when all used to seem hopeless. He filled my heart with love where there used to be hatred. I cannot even begin to express how grateful I am to him. He is much more worthy than all of our praises. I now have a relationship with him, and will never really be alone. I have a wonderful husband, two wonderful parents, a little brother, and a sister. My family and friends are everything to me, but not above my Lord. After all, he is the reason I am able to say any of this. Without him, none of this would be true. In my life, he has loved me more than anyone else, helped me more than anyone else, taught me more than anyone else, and been there for me more than anyone else. No words I could say can do him justice. He tuly is everything to me.

MAY HE BLESS YOU ALL!

[Guest Thomas I believe]

Praise God for both of you, and how he has changed your lives! 

I think I could go on and on about where the Lord has brought me from, and each time I share my testimony, it amazes me even more.  I'll share it here and try to keep it as short as possible, though it still may get a bit long LOL. 

When I think about where the Lord has brought me from, I have to look all the way back to my childhood.  I grew up in an abusive home that kept me in fear as a small child, but as I grew older, turned more into anger and hatred.  As a child, I feared my dad so much that I couldn't bare to be alone in a room with him.  He had a temper that so easily was set off, and over the most foolish of things.  There were many times when he would go over the edge for no reason whatsoever, or at least, no reason that was caused by my mother and I.  His punishment was most always severe.

I learned early on that he was abusive to my mom, and that was perhaps the most painful thing for me endure.  There were nights when I was disturbed from my sleep by the sound of her crying and pleading with him, but he showed no mercy.  He would force her to go downstairs, and I listened to her crying all the way down untill I couldn't hear well enough to know what was happening next.  From the sound of her crying and the things she would say, however....I had a pretty good idea of what he was doing to her down there.  Other times, I kept myself hidden and listened to their arguments.  I never saw him hitting her, but I knew he was.  As I grew older, horrible thoughts began to fill my mind.  Many times, I imagined myself killing him, and even wondered if I should.  For many years, I honestly wanted him to die.  I hated him with a passion.

My mom, on the other hand, I loved dearly, even though she was mostly the one who would hurt me physically.  I suppose she was taking out her anger on me, but I never loved her any less for some reason.  There were times when she would ram her fist into the side of my head, hold me down on the stairway..ramming my head into it, and throw things at me.  I would be so angry with her for a while, but then, I always wanted to help her.  We all lived a miserable life for a long time, and there are other things that happened which I cannot even mention here.

When I got into my teens, I went looking for drugs.  No one pressured me to do them.  I went looking for them on my own before any of my friends were considering them.  My first experience with them was in junior high, and I was also having thoughts of suicide then.  There was also a time then when I confided in a teacher about the things that were going on at home.  When told to the guidance counsellors, my mom was called in for a meeting.  One of the counsellors knew my mom, and refused to believe I was telling the truth.

As a freshman, I done as much of whatever I could get my hands on that I could, and the possibility that I could die was of no importance to me.  Thoughts of suicide were growing stronger in my mind, and I had begun to plan out how I would end my life.  By my sophomore year, I began to fall apart completely.  The drug abuse was finally catching up with me, and my depression was too much to bare.  I hated my life, and hated myself.  I felt like such a failure who deserved nothing, and made the decision to do something one day that proved to be even more addictive than any drug I had taken.  In an attempt to punish myself and release some of the pain, I became extremely addicted to self mutilation.  It wasn't long until I was a total mess from it.  The damage I had done was nightmarish to look at.  It was this that finally brought everything to the surface, however, and it was impossible for me to hide anymore.  Upon the high school guidance counsellors and nurses getting permission to check me out, it wasn't long until I was on my way to a hospital.  My parents attempted to keep me home for a couple of weeks, but quickly realized it was impossible for them to keep me safe from myself.

I spent eighteen days in the first hospital I was admitted to, and from there, went on to a longer term facility where I stayed well over a month.  Everything was brought out, and my parents were forced to sit through the counselling and address all that we had gone through.  My dad often got very angry during the sessions, and once even threatened to sign over his parental rights to me.  It was a difficult time for all of us.  On top of all the issues between my parents and I, I also began to look back at some of the things I went through with an uncle of mine.  I won't say much about that here, but I'm sure it isn't hard to figure out.  Let's just say, I knew things as a small child that no child should be aware of.

After I got out of the hospital, things were still rough between my parents and I for a while.  Then, something happened one night that completely changed things...something amazing!  My parents had decided to go to church one night, but I stayed home alone.  I will never forget that night when they arrived back home.  They came in and stood in front of me....all smiles.  My mom said, "Guess what happened to us tonight?"  I looked at her kinda strange, wondering if I really wanted to know or not.  "We were saved!"  She told me, but I just sat there staring at them.....IN SHOCK!!!!  It was as though my parents had left that day, and two totally different people came back....they looked so different to me.  I said nothing, but a million thoughts were going through my head.  I wondered what that would mean for us.....I knew things were going to change.

I gave my life to Christ a few years after that, and it wasn't until then that I was finally able to completely let go of all I endured in my past.  Before I actually took that step, there were many days and nights when I longed for the Lord so much that it honestly hurt!  I knew how to pray and give my life to him, but for so many reasons, I didn't think I could.  I thought the only way I would be able to overcome my fears, is if I somehow made it into a church, and had someone take my hand and lead me to the alter to pray.  I was afraid and thought, if it doesn't happen this way, I will never make it alone.  You know, I could asked the Lord to save me on any one of the nights I kneeled beside my bed crying out to him for help, but he had other plans in mind....plans that would help me overcome my fears, and make me see that anything is possible with him.  Night after night, I prayed to him for these things to happen.  I told him it was hard for me to see these things happening, but I knew he would make a way.....I knew he would answer those prayers.  WELL, he did answer them.  Not only did he save me, but he answered my prayers and gave me EXACTLY what I had asked him for....not leaving out one single detail.  I was amazed and so full of joy, I immediately called my mom and told her the news after I got out of church that night!

Because of who I used to be and now am not....because of who my parents used ot be but now are not....because of the night he saved me and answered my cries to him in every detail...I WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!!!  Because of these things and so many others, I know there is nothing impossible with our God.  I may still go through trials and have struggles, and might even find myself getting a bit down from time to time, but I NEVER doubt the fact that my God will always take me through each and every valley in my life.  Even if I was barely hanging on, I would know for certain that all would be just fine.

I've said this so many times, and I'll say it again....the best memories I have with my parents, are those we made after their salvation.  They outweigh all the bad memories by far, and always will.  Now, I love my parents dearly, and thank God for them.  I still remember all that we went through, but now, it's as though I'm remembering what happened to someone else...not me.  I thank my God for all the lessons he has helped me to learn from those days, and for how wonderfully he worked it all out.  There was a time when the very mention of God angered me, and I wanted nothing to do with him.  Still, it was him who kept me alive and arranged things to happen as they did so that the violence woudl end.  There were so many times when I should have perished in my sins, but he so mercifully gave me another day.  Even when I wasn't thinking of him, he was thinking of me.

God has given me hope when all used to seem hopeless.  He filled my heart with love where there used to be hatred.  I cannot even begin to express how grateful I am to him.  He is much more worthy than all of our praises.  I now have a relationship with him, and will never really be alone.  I have a wonderful husband, two wonderful parents, a little brother, and a sister.  My family and friends are everything to me, but not above my Lord.  After all, he is the reason I am able to say any of this.  Without him, none of this would be true.  In my life, he has loved me more than anyone else, helped me more than anyone else, taught me more than anyone else, and been there for me more than anyone else.  No words I could say can do him justice.  He tuly is everything to me.

MAY HE BLESS YOU ALL!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Amen !!!!!!

[Can Do (Phil 4:13)]

When I think about where the Lord has brought me from, I have to look all the way back to my childhood.  I grew up in an abusive home that kept me in fear as a small child, but as I grew older, turned more into anger and hatred.  As a child, I feared my dad so much that I couldn't bare to be alone in a room with him.  He had a temper that so easily was set off, and over the most foolish of things.  There were many times when he would go over the edge for no reason whatsoever, or at least, no reason that was caused by my mother and I.  His punishment was most always severe.

I learned early on that he was abusive to my mom, and that was perhaps the most painful thing for me endure.  There were nights when I was disturbed from my sleep by the sound of her crying and pleading with him, but he showed no mercy.  He would force her to go downstairs, and I listened to her crying all the way down untill I couldn't hear well enough to know what was happening next.  From the sound of her crying and the things she would say, however....I had a pretty good idea of what he was doing to her down there.  Other times, I kept myself hidden and listened to their arguments.  I never saw him hitting her, but I knew he was.  As I grew older, horrible thoughts began to fill my mind.  Many times, I imagined myself killing him, and even wondered if I should.  For many years, I honestly wanted him to die.  I hated him with a passion.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That sounds almost EXACTLY like MY dad. Maybe they were brothers. My early years were often spent in terror, not that you would know it by talking with me. It still hurts to remember those days. I get so tempted to ask my Dad if he enjoyed hitting a small child, torturing me with hot objects, twisting my toes and fingers until they were blindingly painful, or if he enjoyed making me live in terror. But I know it wouldn't do any good, so I don't.

He's paying for his sins even now, he is an old man and is very lonely. He's too arrogant to even admit to himself that he is lonely. His Christmas was spent on his own, not one of us 7 kids wanted him at our house. I especially need to watch him with my children because he plays with them as he did with me...minor torture at first and then it gets worse. I want my children only to know the lovely grandfather, that he can be with them. But I watch him like a hawk.

He has no remorse for his behaviour in the past, and he doesn't care to change. God means nothing to him. Less than nothing even. He lies and cheats and steals without the batting of an eyelid, not even his concience can nudge him, he buried deep long ago. But I digress, and I apolgise Mike for venting about my dad. I pray for him, and hope that I get to meet him in heaven, but you know, I really doubt it.

Faithie

[FaithfulFollower]

Thomas I Believe,

Satan has attempted to do just about everything within his power to not only topple my relationship with Christ, but He has also tried to see to it that faith as well as belief in one's self is lost so that way I would not answer to the calling of which has been felt to have been made within my life. God on the other hand, has blessed my husband and myself much within the last few months especailly so as to remind us that He is still there and ever watching.

With Love In Christ,

Danielle

[Guest Thomas I believe]

Thomas I Believe,

Satan has attempted to do just about everything within his power to not only topple my relationship with Christ, but He has also tried to see to it that faith as well as belief in one's self is lost so that way I would not answer to the calling of which has been felt to have been made within my life. God on the other hand, has blessed my husband and myself much within the last few months especailly so as to remind us that He is still there and ever watching.

With Love In Christ,

Danielle

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Danielle, I can relate to you as we all know satan loves to attack us as we serve the Lord. Our faith can be weakened sometimes too and if let go will lead to backsliding etc. Our Lord gives us the strength we need to stand up to satan and push forward. Our lifes may have ups and downs but we Have the Lord there to help us through it, we just have to keep the faith and trust in Him.

[shazza]

Being a Christian for me has been a life changing experience that will never be forgotton.

My life has changed so much and all because of what Jesus did on the cross and of His great love for me/us.

I am so dependant on Him for everything, I seek Him first in all the decisions of my life and wait on Him to lead me. I am so deeply in love with Jesus, I have never experienced such love as this. Thank you Lord!! I will never be good enough to stand before Him but I know He has forgiven me and I long to see His face and be with Him in Eternity.

I do have my rough days too and thankfully I know He is right by my side, I often think of the decisons I could have made without Him and what a big mess my life would be if I had not waited on Him. Thank you Lord.

Thanks Thomas I Believe what a great topic and a time of reflection of what the Lord has done in our lives.

Your sister in Christ,

Shazza

[RustyAngeL]

I was 15 when I came to Jesus. There were a lot of chances to get into drugs and alcohol but my faith in Christ kept me from it. I think I see so many things different from the world. The things in this world don't interest me and I look forward to His return. He changes us from the inside out and I'm glad He looks on the heart first. I too have bad days but all in all it's been a wonderful journey and it will continue until he returns or He takes me home.