Why I Am Here : Testimony

“ What makes the power of forgiveness comparable to God? The very nature of humans is to get angry and feel resentful towards those who have hurt us or did some harm to us in any way.”

“I have learned that something happens when one makes herself available to God: He starts moving in ways no one could imagine” (Davis 43). Such was the case for Katie Davis in her heart-warming novel, Kisses From Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption, co-written by Beth Clark. Katie’s nonfiction memoir speaks passionately about her move to Uganda: here she strengthened her relationship with Jesus, adopted thirteen little Ugandan girls, started a nonprofit ministry, and so much more. Katie’s unique journey teaches about sacrifice for the Lord our God and about following Him wholeheartedly with reckless abandonment. Consequently, Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis is a hopeful story that teaches readers about God’s love for us, and

While numerous teachings Jesus conveyed were challenging, many people believe his call for forgiveness to be extremely difficult to practice. It is not easy to pardon, or even love someone who has betrayed us. These sins people commit against can leave behind scars, and it can take a long time in order for our pain to be healed (Saint Mary’s Bible,1456). Moreover, when we have been wronged, it might be tempting to seek revenge against on the person who has done us wrong, to make him or her hurt as we have been. Additionally, if we do not seek vengeance, we might hold onto feelings directed against that person and well into the future. After we have been wounded in a specific way it is difficult to let our guard down and be vulnerable again

Another way to think about this is how Wesley wrote in his sermon The Scripture Way of Salvation. On our journey to sanctification, he states, what keeps us going on the journey are the means of grace, whether they be for ourselves or done for others. His basic point was that once we are brought into awareness of the grace and our need to repent and turn from our sin, the means provide the nourishment our souls need to grow in grace. How else could one grow in grace than by means of grace?

Being called to love can be summed up by Jesus’s words in Matthew 22:37-40, when he says, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” My understanding of how to love God and love my neighbor has certainly been shaped by the material in this course thus far, especially by the consistent prayerful attitude discussed in Liturgy of the Ordinary. By implementing spiritual disciplines such as lectio divina and close reading, I have been able to center myself on this prayerful attitude and more effectively live out my call to love God and others.

Walking into class for the first time, I did not know what to expect. I grew up going to church every Sunday and going to Sunday School after the church service, it was a Christian household. I know the stories, the important Bible versus and the songs. I would say that I know my faith, my faith was something that I knew and I wouldn 't question it. It was something I was confident with since its something I have known since birth. In this class we question faith, we question everything, even Jesus. I am learning that questions are the best way someone can learn. While reading Night, The Plague and The Gospel of Mark, I got to explore the meaning of the word God.

“Forgiveness is not always as easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness.” This heart wrenching quote by Marianne Williamson gives substantial insight on the true agony that comes along with forgiveness. As we all travel through the journey of life, we face many obstacles which we must overcome.

I had lost a group of friends who I grew very close to seeing as they looked at me in a different aspect. "She's going to judge us" , "She's too good for us now", "I don't want to sit with someone who's going to preach to me" , these were all phrases that got passed around the tiny halls of my middle school after I had committed my life to Christ. My "social life" had digressed and people didn't want to be around me, but that's the moment I came to a realization. I was looking for love somewhere there wasn't any, I had put my foot in a path that was dry on appreciation where I had thought there was plenty, and the heartbreak I had taken from the loss of three great friends had got healed by one awesome Father. There are some worldy heartbreaks when accepting Christ, but they become heavenly appreciations after you realize why the Lord has detached you from

my passion for living for Christ was stronger. I was lead to start a Christian book club. I started it on

     This is probably one of the most moving books I have ever read in my life. It is basically a narrative story of the life of an El Salvadorian women named: Maria Teresa Tula. Maria is a wonderful storyteller and the fact the she is describing her own real life experiences greatly add to the impact of the book.

I did not come to know Christ until December of 2003 at the age of 25 at First Baptist Church of Gordonsville Tennessee. As a young boy, I had a desire to know GOD, and had even made a profession of faith, but never had anyone

My journey with God started in February of 1993, when I went to a ladies’ conference in Columbus, Texas. It was while the speaker was explaining that she knew there were some of us out in the audience, who felt guilty about something they had done in their past, and they did not feel that God could forgive them for it. But then she quoted from God’s word; “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, not principalities, no things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38-39 NASB) The speaker continued on to say that all we need to do is

The definition of Christianity is a religion that teaches about who Jesus is and why he was sent to save us. I believe being a Christian consists of loving inward, outward and upward. I as that I never knew who God was growing up, but I always knew he existed. I am a courageous Christian woman that has been a Christian for almost three years now. I know now what it is like to live for God’s glory. Before I became a Christian I was a very lost soul. What I mean by this is, I lived a very hateful life. I hated me. I hated you. Most of all I hated God. How could God create someone like me?

A testimony is a personal story of what God has done in one’s life, the story of one’s conversion. Many people have dramatic testimonies of God rescuing them from death and destruction. Others have stories a little less dramatic; nevertheless they are life-changing. We truly leave the kingdom of darkness for the kingdom of light. C. S. Lewis puts it this way: “It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.”1

I always knew about the bible, it would be very hard not to when you live in a Christian household and not to mention my dad being the Senior Pastor at my church. These going through the motions continued into my teen years and being a typical teenager, I start to question why I was doing the things I would do. During all the questions I asked I started to drift away