I just created my blog about 30 minutes ago. I decided I needed to make a first post to capture readers. What better way to start than sharing my testimony. Hopefully this speaks to you in some way or form. Enjoy:
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
Your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table for me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life,
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord, forever”
This scripture means more than the world to me, literally. It’s led me through the hardest times of my life. When my relationship with God had been at its weakest, it brought me back to my feet. I believe this passage is my life source, it reveals many powers of God. During the fall and winter seasons of 2006, these powers of God renewed my faith. I made myself severely sick due to the fear of a threat. In bed for about a month, I had noticed a missing element. This element was a relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ. This being said, here is why my life relies so much on Psalm 23:
Unlike most Christians, I don’t know the exact date in which I accepted Christ as my Savior. I had a strong relationship with God, even as a young boy. When my family and I lived in Europe, we visited many beautiful places. I always told myself: “There’s no possible way anyone, but God, that has the ability to create such beautiful things.” This was at the age of seven. But six years later, in seventh grade, I got into bad habits. Habits that hindered me from growing in my relationship with Christ. My relationship with God was almost completely absent; especially compared to the past. This led to horrible struggles in my walk with God. A few months into my seventh grade year, I was awakened from my spiritually dead body. The severe stomach cramps began and one day, during school, I was in the bathroom. It so happens that I was threatened to be killed. Usually I would not take this seriously, but a couple of days later I saw a knife in someone’s locker. This scared me to the point where I made myself sick. Overall I spent two nights in the ER, three days in the hospital, and I had day surgery. It turns out there was a parasite that started in my stomach, went to my liver, then my small intestine. But now that I look back to this, it wasn’t the parasite that made me severely sick. It was mostly fear, fear that was hidden to everyone but me and God. Eventually I did tell my parents about every tragic thing that happened in just that one month. After finding this out, they made the biggest decision of my life. My parents chose to put me in private school. This would be ONE of the most important turning points in my life, because I needed so much to be in a Christian environment. But the number one turning point in my life was the month I lived in bed due to the sickness of aroused fear. The first week I was homebound, I began to feel the need of a missing element. That week was the start of a depressing month. But this week was also the beginning of a new, prospering relationship. I spent many days crying and praying. I had finally found the missing element that I had lost about a year before. To tell the truth, I can barely hold back the tears as I am writing this. They’re not just tears of depression, but tears of joy as well. As time flies by, it was time for God to put my renewed faith to the test. It wasn’t hard moving to Missouri, it was just hard to think about what we were leaving behind. A new school would be deeply missed. But the move turned out to be easy, and my faith held strong for 18 months. So my “wake-up call” didn’t just last for a month, but for two and a half years. During these two and a half years, I used this saying: “If you are 100 steps away from God, God will take 99 steps just so you will take that one.” This provided me an assuring comfort from God.
The 2010-2011 year has held much in store for me. The summer of 2010 was an eye opening experience. The U.M. Army trip was in Silsbee, Texas. Before the mission trip, I had thought it would be humbling just to help others in need. Although this was true, it was a girl that had the most effect on me that summer. Yes, I do love this girl, but that’s not what humbled me. What humbled me were her actions, she showed me more about a Christian lifestyle more than any other.
This experience would go to influence me on the most eye-opening experience I’ve ever had, Jamaica Mission Trip 2011. That spring I went on a trip that has changed me forever. It was spiritually humbling. Our group of 15 ministered and made a huge impact on the Jamaicans. So far, I already notice changes. I’m more open about my feelings and I am constantly in deep thought. And these are only some things that I’ve obtained and learned from the trip.
Psalm 23“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
Your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table for me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life,
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord, forever”
This scripture means more than the world to me, literally. It’s led me through the hardest times of my life. When my relationship with God had been at its weakest, it brought me back to my feet. I believe this passage is my life source, it reveals many powers of God. During the fall and winter seasons of 2006, these powers of God renewed my faith. I made myself severely sick due to the fear of a threat. In bed for about a month, I had noticed a missing element. This element was a relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ. This being said, here is why my life relies so much on Psalm 23:
My TestimonyUnlike most Christians, I don’t know the exact date in which I accepted Christ as my Savior. I had a strong relationship with God, even as a young boy. When my family and I lived in Europe, we visited many beautiful places. I always told myself: “There’s no possible way anyone, but God, that has the ability to create such beautiful things.” This was at the age of seven. But six years later, in seventh grade, I got into bad habits. Habits that hindered me from growing in my relationship with Christ. My relationship with God was almost completely absent; especially compared to the past. This led to horrible struggles in my walk with God. A few months into my seventh grade year, I was awakened from my spiritually dead body. The severe stomach cramps began and one day, during school, I was in the bathroom. It so happens that I was threatened to be killed. Usually I would not take this seriously, but a couple of days later I saw a knife in someone’s locker. This scared me to the point where I made myself sick. Overall I spent two nights in the ER, three days in the hospital, and I had day surgery. It turns out there was a parasite that started in my stomach, went to my liver, then my small intestine. But now that I look back to this, it wasn’t the parasite that made me severely sick. It was mostly fear, fear that was hidden to everyone but me and God. Eventually I did tell my parents about every tragic thing that happened in just that one month. After finding this out, they made the biggest decision of my life. My parents chose to put me in private school. This would be ONE of the most important turning points in my life, because I needed so much to be in a Christian environment. But the number one turning point in my life was the month I lived in bed due to the sickness of aroused fear. The first week I was homebound, I began to feel the need of a missing element. That week was the start of a depressing month. But this week was also the beginning of a new, prospering relationship. I spent many days crying and praying. I had finally found the missing element that I had lost about a year before. To tell the truth, I can barely hold back the tears as I am writing this. They’re not just tears of depression, but tears of joy as well. As time flies by, it was time for God to put my renewed faith to the test. It wasn’t hard moving to Missouri, it was just hard to think about what we were leaving behind. A new school would be deeply missed. But the move turned out to be easy, and my faith held strong for 18 months. So my “wake-up call” didn’t just last for a month, but for two and a half years. During these two and a half years, I used this saying: “If you are 100 steps away from God, God will take 99 steps just so you will take that one.” This provided me an assuring comfort from God.
The 2010-2011 year has held much in store for me. The summer of 2010 was an eye opening experience. The U.M. Army trip was in Silsbee, Texas. Before the mission trip, I had thought it would be humbling just to help others in need. Although this was true, it was a girl that had the most effect on me that summer. Yes, I do love this girl, but that’s not what humbled me. What humbled me were her actions, she showed me more about a Christian lifestyle more than any other.
This experience would go to influence me on the most eye-opening experience I’ve ever had, Jamaica Mission Trip 2011. That spring I went on a trip that has changed me forever. It was spiritually humbling. Our group of 15 ministered and made a huge impact on the Jamaicans. So far, I already notice changes. I’m more open about my feelings and I am constantly in deep thought. And these are only some things that I’ve obtained and learned from the trip.
