Can I just say these past few months have been a blur. We have been getting plugged into several different areas in our church and God continues to bless us. One thing I couldn't stop thinking about tonight is how quiet my house has been. We spent so much time arguing that most nights were spent in silence or using raised voices to get our points across. Our lives were far from perfect and now we realize they will never be. No one has the perfect family or the perfect life! Everyone has problems just like us. One of the biggest problems we ever had was trying to get connected in a church. Being from complete opposite backgrounds when it came to religion it was hard to find a church that satisfied both our needs. After much searching I believe we found the blessing of a lifetime.
Journey Church of Jacksonville/Orange Park, Florida has been such a tremendous blessing to us. We find ourselves going out of our way to want to help and serve in such a loving church. We want to share with others what has been done for us and how the church and Celebrate Recovery have saved our lives and our marriage. We are helping out in Children's Ministry and also working with Gospel Coaches to get us prepared to be one some day ourselves! We want to live for the Lord and show him that change can come if you are obedient to him. As much as Facebook can be a place for evil to seep in I am trying to spread our story. To spread the word about Celebrate Recovery!
Please don't hold me to a higher standard as we all sin. I am just putting my families sin out there for you to see!
Our Pastor sometimes jokes about how some people shouldn't have him on their Facebook page. It is funny how some think that drinking is not a sin. For a lot of people it might not be. If you go to dinner and have a glass of wine, I guess you could say that is OK. But I see so many posts from people who claim to be Christians but yet they do not act in a way that would be pleasing to the lord. I go back to that old saying "What would Jesus DO?" I guess the sad thing is people just don't care, because if we as Christians don't try to help our brothers and sisters in Christ, then how will they ever know they are doing something wrong.
Galatians 6:1
New International Version (NIV)
Doing Good to All
6 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.
It is truly amazing how much you learn from going through a step study. It is helping me as a person grow. I had a friend she helped me so much in hard times, she gave me advice, she gave me books to read, and even sent me scripture when she saw me struggling. Just a few verses away from Galatians 6:1 was a verse she sent me.
Galatians 6:9
New International Version (NIV)
9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
There were times I wanted to give up. There were times I did, but not for long. Life has a funny way of making you feel insignificant. People are flesh and they certainly act that way. No matter how great of a Christian you are you can slip and fall. You can be tempted. It makes me so aware of the people I surround myself with now. I can't always be what everyone wants me to be. I will never be perfect and so I need to be as complete as possible while here on this earth. At times it is hard. You want people to be happy for you especially family and people you consider to be your good/best friends. When they choose not to acknowledge your happiness it hurts. Because I am human and my feelings still do get hurt. But do you know what makes that all go away?
Today I was a greeter at our church welcoming in new visitors and all the familiar faces of Journey Church. When all the sudden a man came up and shared how much my testimony had meant to him. He shared that the next week in their Wednesday men's group a man had confessed to the group about having a problem with alcohol. He told me that MY testimony helped a few of the men realize what they were doing to their own wives and marriages. WOW! I was brought to tears. It amazes me how God can use little ole me to spread a word of hope to encourage others. My life is changing day by day and I am so thankful to be in a happy place! Yes I still have bad days, because I believe now that hardships are a pathway to peace. Without some of my dearest friends helping me along the way I would have never made it this far. I am truly thankful for their wisdom and their brutal honesty when I needed it. You will never know how much it meant to me.
There were times I wanted to give up. There were times I did, but not for long. Life has a funny way of making you feel insignificant. People are flesh and they certainly act that way. No matter how great of a Christian you are you can slip and fall. You can be tempted. It makes me so aware of the people I surround myself with now. I can't always be what everyone wants me to be. I will never be perfect and so I need to be as complete as possible while here on this earth. At times it is hard. You want people to be happy for you especially family and people you consider to be your good/best friends. When they choose not to acknowledge your happiness it hurts. Because I am human and my feelings still do get hurt. But do you know what makes that all go away?
Today I was a greeter at our church welcoming in new visitors and all the familiar faces of Journey Church. When all the sudden a man came up and shared how much my testimony had meant to him. He shared that the next week in their Wednesday men's group a man had confessed to the group about having a problem with alcohol. He told me that MY testimony helped a few of the men realize what they were doing to their own wives and marriages. WOW! I was brought to tears. It amazes me how God can use little ole me to spread a word of hope to encourage others. My life is changing day by day and I am so thankful to be in a happy place! Yes I still have bad days, because I believe now that hardships are a pathway to peace. Without some of my dearest friends helping me along the way I would have never made it this far. I am truly thankful for their wisdom and their brutal honesty when I needed it. You will never know how much it meant to me.
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