my testimony

My family never went to church.

My dad and mom were both raised Catholic.  They both went to Catholic schools.  My dad, he never bought into the religion.  At one point when I asked him who he thought created us, he replied that he believed aliens created us and dropped us off here on this planet and left us to fend for ourselves.  At another point in his life when I asked what he thought would happen to him after he died, he said he believed nothing happened.  When you died, you died.  Game over.  Anyway, he's all over the place when it comes to his "theology."

My mom, on the other hand, did buy into the Catholic faith, somewhat.  We never went to church regularly or anything like that.  In terms of church attendance, if I ever walked into a church, it was a Catholic church, and it was usually because someone was getting married, a baby was being baptized, or someone had just died.  But, you could tell my mother believed in the whole "Jesus being born of a virgin to die and save us from our sins so we can all go to heaven" story.  In fact, what little belief in Jesus I had growing up probably came from her insistence that every Easter we watch King of Kings - which would come on TV without fail every year.  She believed everything in that movie to be true, so I believed it to be true. And, we both believed that would be enough.  If we died, we would go to Heaven to be with Jesus.  That, or end up in purgatory - a Catholic thing.  Either way, we were safe! ;-)

My whole family - along with most of northwest Indiana - is Catholic.  That is until my aunt Cheryl - my dad's youngest sister - visited a Southern Baptist church with a friend one Sunday and got "saved."

When she told us she was "saved" and that we needed to be "saved," we thought she was crazy!  We didn't need to be "saved" from anything!  We were Catholic, so we were fine! We made fun of her - a lot. (Sorry, Aunt Cheryl!)

That is until a day in 1995 - the summer before my senior year of high school - when my sister and I were babysitting my aunt Cheryl's little girl -  my cousin Amanda...  We were going to stay the night and go home the next day (a Sunday).  That night though, my aunt got to talking to me about Jesus...

I remember sitting at her dining room table and shooting all kinds of questions at her. I was going to prove her wrong that I needed to be "saved."  However, it came down to this...

She asked me if I believed the Bible was God's word, and I said that I did. So, she proceeded to show me in the bible where it said that I was a sinner in need of a savior - which I had no problem believing - and that I needed to accept God's gift of Jesus' sacrifice for my sins, repent of those sins, and ask Him into my heart.

She showed me where it said that Jesus was knocking on the door to my heart - so to speak - and she showed me that simple "belief" in Him wasn't what would get me into Heaven.  I mean, the devil believes in God, but we all know Satan isn't going to end up in Heaven ultimately. ;-)

Basically, she showed me in the Bible where it said I had to open the door of my heart, of my life, and let Him in. I had to accept Him as my personal Lord and Savior - be born again - if I was ever going to one day be with Him when I died. 

I saw it all! In the Bible!  God's word!  How could I deny that?!

I asked, "How do I do this?" 

She invited me to church the next Sunday, and she said that when the pastor gave the invitation at the end of the service, I should go forward and he would lead me in a prayer to accept Jesus into my heart and life.

At first, I said, "I can do that right here and now. I don't need to go to a church to do that."

And she replied, "True."  However, she showed me this verse in the bible:

Matthew 10:32 Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.

And I knew what I had to do!

So in July of 1995, I went forward at First Baptist Church of Griffith, IN, and I prayed for Jesus to come into my heart and take my life - I opened the door of my heart to Jesus.

It was life changing!  I felt different.  I felt new. I felt as if I had been "born again."

Because I gave Him my life, I began living according to His agenda and not my own.  And Lord only knows where I would be today if I hadn't done that!  Oh, the blessings I have in my life are too many to count because I've let Him rule my life and NOT ME!

I have grown - and am still growing - in my walk with Him. I have learned so much about the bible through reading and studying it, and I've learned so much about my Jesus.  My bridegroom. 

I am so glad that I accepted his proposal and opened the door of my heart to Him! I am betrothed to the most high King of Kings!

Revelation 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

I am loved, and my only REAL desire in life is to be worthy of that love - even though I know I could never do that on my own.  It is His sacrifice that makes me worthy of anything good.

If you haven't opened the door of your heart to Jesus, please, don't wait!  It's the best decision you'll ever make!

Your bridegroom awaits. See what I saw in the bible that brought me to a saving knowledge of Him - click The Roman Road.

Meet my Jesus!

my other groom

Tonight was the second session of the Wednesday night bible study I started last week.  The study is entitled Restore My Heart, and it is by Denise Glenn.

During this study, we examine all of the customs surrounding Jewish weddings and draw parallels from that to what Jesus has done for us - he being the groom and we (the church) being His bride.

Wow... I am learning more than I could possibly share here!  However, there was one thing that particularly impressed me - the tradition of the Arrabon.

Basically, a Jewish man - after paying the bride price for the woman his father chooses for him to marry - gives the girl an engagement ring (Arrabon) - if she decides that, yes, she would like to marry him.  The Arrabon is like "earnest money" - a deposit to ensure that he will follow through with the marriage.  It's a betrothal ring. 

Jesus has done the same for us - his bride, the church.  He paid our bride price (died on the cross for our sins) and then gave us an Arrabon - the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit is the guarantee that one day Jesus will come for his bride, and following, we will be at the marriage supper of the lamb.

He has done this for us!  He is our groom - MY groom.  I am betrothed to Him, and He to I.

So, I've decided to start wearing an Arrabon to symbolize this relationship I have with my Jesus.  I will wear it where Jewish women traditionally wear theirs - on the pointer fingers of their right hands. 

His love for me is amazing... I'll have to share more from this study later. It's deep. It's moving.  It's my Jesus.

Today's forget-me-not: If you have accepted Jesus' proposal to be His bride, you have His Arrabon (the Holy Spirit).  You are loved.  You are His, and He is yours.

He cares

Things are good.

I told the students, parents, and principal that I cannot coach speech next year.  The other coach already knew about my decision, so this makes it final.  And it feels sooo good, so right.  I just have to make it through April, and my responsibility to speech will all be gone.  That, combined with the decision to pursue my certification in physical education, makes my future look bright!

Church was good this morning.  Good preaching, good music, great Sunday school class!  We're comfortable there but probably too comfortable.  I'm looking for ways to shake up my spiritual life.  I'm really looking forward to a new bible study Wednesday night.  Additionally, I'm waiting for an e-mail in reply to my e-mail suggestions about starting an Easter and Halloween outreaches.  I'm eager to reach out in His name!

All is well on the home front.  Hannah is growing fast, talking more.  Beth is slowly getting the hang of reading.  I know it will take time, but I'm a little impatient to see it happen. hehe

Really, my great God cares for me.  I see it in everything that is and has been my life - yes EVERYTHING!  Even the bad?  Yes, even the bad.  Most especially in the bad times!  He brought me through it all and has made me who I am today. 

I guess that's why this song really spoke to my spirit today in church.  Take a listen...

Today's forget-me-not: "He's always there; He hears my prayers; My great God cares for me."

be a doer, not just a hearer

You may have noticed that I ended my last post with "Today's forget-me-not".  This is something new I want to do for 2013 and beyond.  Since I created this blog "to remember everything, everyone, and every day the Lord Jesus sends my way," I thought I'd end each post with that - that thing I've learned, or talking about the qualities of the person I just met, or, generally, with just something I don't want to forget.

Today, it was back to church after two Sundays off.  The Sunday before last was right before Christmas eve, and we just needed that day as a family to gear up for Christmas.  The previous Sunday there wasn't childcare available, so for us, that meant a day at home, for sure! 

Anyway, I was glad to get back to church.  The first Sunday of every month, Michael helps out in Beth's Sunday school class, and I help out in Hannah's.  We miss worship that Sunday which is a sacrifice we are very willing to make for those teachers who are with our kidos every Sunday without fail.  Then, it was off to Sunday school for Michael and I. 

I love our Sunday school teacher!  He has such a heart for the Lord!  It is very infectious :-)  We started a new study of the book of James, and I love this book.  It's all about living what you believe and not just paying lip service to it. 

Toward that end, I've committed to trying to do something for Easter and Halloween at our church.  I'm excited about this potential outreach to our community!  I'm almost 100% sure the reason we haven't done anything in the past few years regarding this is because they've needed someone to head it up, and I'm the girl who is gonna do that - if they'll let me!  LOL

Anyway, I just want to be more committed to outreach - to our community.  Please feel free to share below any cool church outreach ideas for Easter and Halloween. I'm thinking egg hunt and trunk-or-treat, but other ideas as well as modifications of these current ones would be greatly appreciated!

James 1:²² Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³ Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴ and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
I want to look deeper into my faith and "continue in" - i.e. practice - it.  I want His blessings, and I know service bring the best ones.

Today's forget-me-not: Blessings come when you serve - when you are a doer of His word and not just a hearer. 

Get some blessings today!

Setting a Goal

I've posted previously that I intend to get certified to teach health and physical education.  Well, I thought I'd "write down" some goals that will help me work toward this. 

First, I will purchase a study guide for the exam as soon as we get our tax return, so that is some time in February.

Second, I will register for the test by the end of April.

Third, June 15th is the test!

IF I don't pass it on the first try, I will try again in October.  IF I don't pass it in October, I'll take that as a sign from God. God saying, "Jamie, I want you teaching English."  And, I'll be okay with that. I love English, but I have room for new passions - this might just be one of those new passions.

Something feels right about this... And I just need to give it a try!

Today's forget-me-not: Don't be afraid to follow the where you feel your heart leading.  Even if you hit a dead end, you will have grown from the experience.  God works together all things for the good of those that love Him.

Resolutions Review - January

I've decided.  The first of every month this year, I will review my resolutions and check my progress on them.

I decided for 2013... Keeping it simple...

1. Grow Spiritually
2. Stay Healthy
3. Live, Love, and Laugh Often

I haven't done anything specific for number one yet, but my plan is to sign up for some conferences or concerts when we have some extra cash and get back into Wednesday night bible study when that kicks in again at our church.

Number two - I did my 30 minute welcome 2013 run at the YMCA this afternoon.  My legs are on fire because I did it on the treadmill and that always kicks my running butt more than running on the indoor track. 

As for number three, my hubby and I took a hard look at how we spent our money in 2013 and what we owe in terms of debt.  As a result, we have postponed the purchase of a treadmill.  GRIEVES ME TERRIBLY, but it is the right thing to do.

You might ask what finances have to do with living, loving, and laughing often; however, now that I just typed that out and you read it, you probably get it, right?  I mean, living often requires money to do some of the fun things you want to do - like go to Disney this year (my dream) - and thus is connected to laughter.  If we can get a good grip on finances this year, then we'd be in so much better shape to do the things we want to do. Yes, vacations are a part of that, but much more than that is loving.

I want to have extra money to share with those that are in great need.  However, this Christmas, we weren't really able to buy for those less fortunate, and that is unfortunate.  It's really our own fault, and I resolve that won't happen again Christmas 2013!  I don't want to be in bondage to debt.  I know God has better plans for the resources He's given us, if we'd just trust him.  And, he'd bless us if we managed well what He already gives us.

Toward that end - that blessing part, I leave you with my motivation for saving instead of spending.  Ultimately, I want Christmas 2013 at Disney.

Something to work towards!