Testimony #4

Hey guys!  I am really excited to share this testimony with you today.  Nancy Rue was one of my favorite authors when I was younger.  So, I present to you, testimony #4-- Nancy Rue!!

I’m always a little envious when I hear moving testimonies from fellow
Christians who have had dramatic conversions from deeply troubled lives to
sudden and complete commitment to Christ. I don’t covet the troubled former
lives, of course, but the drastic change from nothing to all – I’ve never experienced
that and I can’t help a small degree of wistfulness.
And yet would I really change how I have come to know our Lord God? I
was born into a devoutly Christian family, baptized at six weeks old, and raised
with the church as the center of my life. Not only were we there every time the
doors opened, we were often the ones who opened them! Worship, prayer, and
potluck suppers were as much a part of the rhythm of my world as school and sleep
and summer vacations. Looking back as an adult, I know that my parents breathed
their faith, especially in the many times of sickness and sorrow we suffered
through together. It never occurred to me that there was any other way to be.
When I was twelve, I naturally went to confirmation class so that I could,
well, confirm my faith and be blessed by the bishop. I pretty much knew all that
our minister taught about the Episcopal Church, but what I didn’t know was that
for the first dozen years of my life I’d been simply worshiping my parents’ God.
As we learned about prayer, I started talking to God myself, alone, for the first
time, and I was amazed to find that God talked back. Not in audible words – I’ve
only had that happen a handful of times, really – but in a palpable sense that God
was real and had been waiting for me to come by myself into that presence which
can’t be described or proven or measured.
So I suppose if I had to pinpoint the moment I came to Christ on my own,
it would be the spring of 1964. With a foundation of church and scripture and the
fellowship of believers laid for me by my mom and dad, I could stand before my
congregation and say for myself, “I am a Christian.”
Maybe that’s why I spend most of my professional time ministering to
tweens and teens through my writing and speaking and blogging and teaching.
It’s an age of first awakening, of taking on the responsibility of having a real
relationship with God. I like supporting my youngest sisters in that place, because
it was such an important place for me.
Would I change how I have come to know our Lord God? Perhaps not,
because I have a feeling that was exactly as God wanted it to be. How can we
argue with that?

-Aylin

Testimony #3

Hey guys!  Today is Testimony #3.  OK, so technically, it isn't a story of how this woman came to know Jesus for the first time -- but more like how Jesus changed her life and is transforming her daily.

Today I present to you --

Katie Davis!

Katie lives in Uganda.  She's the mother of 14 girls there.  And she helps provide for several hundred other children in Uganda.

Intruiged?  Watch the video.

 

This video is so inspiring, but wait until you read her book -- Kisses from Katie.  It is an amazing story of how one heart who was set on following Jesus to the ends of the earth has touched hundreds of others.  Please read this and be challenged to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

-Aylin

Testimony #2

Here's testimony #2 -- by Pastor Jerry Gillis!  He's the senior pastor of a large church in New York, and he's sharing with us the story of how he came to know Christ.  It's an amazing story, and I hope you'll take the time to watch the video. (I know, another video, right?)  I couldn't figure out how to post it, so if you go here, you can view it.

-Aylin

Hold us Together

You may never know that Jesus is all you need, until Jesus is all you have. -Corrie Ten Boom

Have you ever felt like you had nothing left? Like this life is pointless? Corrie Ten Boom literally lost everything, and she discovered that Jesus is really the only thing we need. 

Sure, there may be things we want, but do we really need them? 

Christ's love alone can hold our lives together. When we attempt to use other things, it's like trying to use water instead of super glue. 

I think that we have a lot of things backwards. We don't need food, clothing, boyfriends/girlfriends, a house, friends, etc., and Christ isn't something extra that we can just add on when we want to. 

God is what we need, He is the One True Foundation. Everything else is something that God chooses to add on. 

Think of the Heaven. We will be praising God (in His presence!) day and night... and we will be completely satisfied through that. That is why Heaven will be so wonderful. 

Don't curse God for what He didn't give you... Praise Him for what He did. :)

~Elizabeth

 

Testimony Monday!

Hey guys!

Elizabeth and I have gotten some testimonies from Christians we look up to, and we're going to post them on the blog!  Although we aren't going to post them on specific days, we are going to spread them out over the summer.

Today I am excited to present --

Katie Leigh!

Katie Leigh does the voice of Connie Kendall on Adventures in Odyssey.  She shared her story of grace with us via email...

 Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your work?
    
     Well, I've been working as a Voiceover actress since 1981 or so.  I
     have had the privilege of working on many wonderful cartoons and
     movies as well as AIO. These days VO is a lot different and most of us
     record our auditions from home. I even do a lot of work from home. I
     am the mom of 5 kids in a blended  family. Our youngest graduates high
     school this year!

 Did you grow up in a Christian home and go to church as a child?

     I grew up in an Episcopalian family. We went to church every week and
     I sang in the choir. But I became a born again believer when I was
     about 25.

When did you first hear about God?

     In my twenties I went to a bible study and met real practicing, bible
     believing Christians that impress upon me that I wanted live the way
     they did.

How did accepting Jesus affect your outlook on life?

     When I accepted the Lord I read my bible cover to cover. I wanted to
     please Him, and I wanted to serve Him. I got rid of some music I had
     around the house and books that I thought were not in keeping with my
     new faith and I wanted to serve God in and through my VO work if at
     all possible. It made me more loving towards other people and
     hopefully more gracious. After a year or so, I ended up working for
     Focus on the Family, and my life has been a huge blessing to me and
     many other people, and I am very thankful.

If you'd like to hear more about Katie Leigh's life and work, you can watch this video.  It's kind of long, but definately worth taking the time to watch.

Also, lets give a big round of applause to Katie Leigh for letting us share a bit of her story!  Thanks!

Light Up the Sky

Happy Independence Day, Americans!!!  Here's a song by the Afters:



I put this song up partly because it had fireworks :D and mostly because this song has an amazing message.  The song asks God to stay with us, to show us that He is real.  And He does -- sometimes in ways too small and numerous for us to see.

Have a great 4th of July,
Aylin

God is Good

It's been a while since I last posted (sorry!), but what I'm writing on is really important. 

I think sometimes we (myself included) picture God as this evil king sitting on a black throne, holding up his staff and constantly looking for ways to torture us. 

But that's not how God is at all. He is good, and He cares about us so much. He looks for ways to bless us, and while yes He puts us through trials, He does it so that His perfect plan may occur. 

Trust in the Lord and do good.
    Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you your heart’s desires.

 Commit everything you do to the Lord.
    Trust him, and he will help you.
 He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
    and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

 Be still in the presence of the Lord,
    and wait patiently for him to act.   

                                                  Psalm 37: 3-7 

I came across this a few days ago when I was reading my Bible. It struck me as...well... beautiful. I mean, isn't it such an amazing picture? That God will make our innocence radiate like the dawn? It just sort of puts things into perspective. 

God loves us, and works all things together for the good of those who love Him. :) 

~Elizabeth

Study of Job

Hey Guys!  I thought I'd let you know of a series of books by Kay Arthur.  They are the New Inductive Study Series.  Each study book goes though a book in the Bible (or two books, if they're short).  The series includes most of the books in the Bible (I'm doing Job right now).

The book is broken down into daily study by reading a section of the Bible, finding and marking certain words or phrases in your Bible, and writing down something you found in the passage.  For example, today I marked in my Bible every time I found God referenced in Job chapter one, and I wrote down all the things the text said about Him .    

I thought that this was a very good, personal Bible study, because it asked you to pull information out of the Scriptures, yet it wasn't a fill-in-the-blank sort of thing.  This book simply asks for what you can see.  I'm also going through Job in my other devotion book (the Quiet Time devotional with commentary), so I will get others' insights into the book as well.

-Aylin