Hello everyone, and welcome back.
As I mentioned last month, I believe that God has set into motion this ministry blog for you and me to get to know each other better and grow in Christ as we take this journey together. My prayer is that we can grow deeper in God’s love as we share our life stories and pray for each other. As you know, I am a daughter, wife, mom, even a grandmother, and like most of you, I am also a friend and coworker. No matter who we are, there will be times in our life that are good and other times we struggle. At least this is true for me. Throughout my life, there have been a lot of those good and bad moments. I think back and realize just how much God has done for me in my life over the years. There have been many times, during my life, that I have felt that God must be so disappointed in me; I have let Him down so much. I am sure many of you have possibly felt this same way at least once in your life. Thankfully, God loves us so much and is quick to forgive us when we make mistakes. All we have to do is ask God to forgive us in those times and help us grow stronger to not repeat those same mistakes. Never give up and continue to seek God every day for grace and mercy. God is always faithful to answer our prayers.
I would like to take a moment to share a little more of my life story and take you on a journey all the way back to my childhood. I grew up in a small town in South Georgia and was blessed to have been raised by both parents. So many people don’t get that chance in life. We were a close family for the most part, and we lived next door to my paternal grandparents who helped in my care growing up. My family and I did not have a lot of material things compared to some families, but I don’t remember a time that I went without food to eat or clothes to wear. In fact, there was one time that a fellow student asked me was my family rich; I guess this was because of certain clothes that I sometimes wore. My response was simply “no, not at all”. What that student didn’t know was that I was blessed to have a distant cousin that would occasionally send me her “hand me down” clothes. I always looked forward to those times because my parents couldn’t buy me clothes very often. There were a lot of times over the years that my family had struggles to face and overcome, but we got through those times together with love and support. I have always believed in God and have relied on my faith to get me through tough times, but as a child, I still felt like God was always so distant. My mom would take me to church, which happened to be a Baptist church with very traditional, structured services that taught God’s word but didn’t allow much freedom of worship. My paternal grandparents, on the other hand, attended a Church of God church that offered services that taught the word of God and allowed freedom of worship. I am very thankful that I had the opportunity to experience both church settings. As I mentioned earlier, regarding my childhood, I always thought God was distant, but I knew God loved me and would take care of me. I wanted to learn and grow spiritually, but I wasn’t exactly sure how to accomplish this so I just hung on to my faith. At the age of 8 years old, as I was in my bedroom, I asked Jesus into my heart to save me and take away my sins. I remember, at that very moment, having a supernatural event take place. It was like a surge of energy coming into my chest, and I felt a warm sense of peace. There was no doubt in my mind that God showed up and excepted my invitation to come into my heart and life. Anyone can have this amazing experience of God’s love, mercy, and grace; all you need to do is believe and ask God into your life to be Lord of your life.
Now, there may be some people that don’t believe God is real; maybe some of you right now reading this blog just think I’m crazy and that my experience with God just simply didn’t happen; if so, that’s ok. You see, I can’t make anyone believe in God any more than they can make me not believe in God. Faith is all that is needed for anyone to be saved by God’s grace and mercy, no matter how small the amount of faith. It is simply up to us, as individuals, to take that faith and open our hearts up to that possibility that God is real and that God’s love for you is real. For me personally, I have had so many times occur in my life that has only increased my faith and belief that God is definitely real. God does care for each one of us. The word of God is filled with so many scriptures and proof that God is real and that he cares for us. * Here are a couple of scriptures, from the NIV version of the Holy Bible, that I want to share with you today.
*Psalms 55:22 Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.
*Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Remember, God created us in His own image; God also created us as unique individuals to do unique things for the kingdom. So, I challenge you today to step out by faith, believe in God and accept His mercy and grace. If you are already a child of God, I challenge you today to step out by faith and continue on the path that God has set before you. Try not to compare yourself to what other Christians are doing for God. Remember, God has created you for a special purpose to accomplish in this lifetime. Each one of us is special to God. So, remember to take baby steps, don’t rush the plan God has for you. It has taken 2 ½ years for this blog ministry to begin. Pray and seek God for your purpose. Love one another as God loves us.
As I leave you today, remember you will be able to respond back to me on my blog and let me know your thoughts. We are currently trying to complete the process of setting up an email so that you send me your personal thoughts or prayer requests. I know you may want to share private matters so that no one else will know, but I will pray with you. You can also reach out to the staff at ACOG Church or even check out their Facebook page or watch the live feed of our services each week.
Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to be part of this journey with me.
Until next month’s blog,
Dana P.