Bring on the New Year 2009 December 31, 2008

I am so ready for the New Year 2009, God has something special en-store for my family…I know it!  God is Blessing!  Last year beginning January 11, 2008 we stepped into a storm that actually blew our entire family away…it was so unexpected.  It not only affected my family, but, my extended family as well.   

Have you ever felt like your life has just been ripped right out from under you and there is no where to turn…church gone…friends gone, even friends that you actually thought were your best of  friends, just vanish.  This is what happened to our family…all our friends were in the church.  Cuz you sure don’t want to hangout with non-Christians…now isn’t that right??????  Talk about this more on into my blog!

We left our church toward the end of January, God leading us to worship in our home.  I did have 2 friends and my entire family and Pauls family that stuck to us like clue during this storm.  Although, our BIGGEST and BESTEST friend was JESUS.  Even though I so love those 2 friends and our family, He was the One we needed the most!

We began worship in our home as soon as we stopped attending our other church.  We got up every Sunday morning took our showers as if attending church as we normally would have.  My hubby put all the music together every week and we jammed for 30 minutes to our favorite worship songs.  Man how AWESOME this was, Jesus was rockin in our house with us.  We played the music as loud as we wanted, clapped, raised our hands and partied with the JESUS!  Amen!  After our worship time we watched a video relating to teen issues then following this we did a Kay Arthur 40 minute study lead by my hubby!  Zachary did song worship with us, then he would go and watch a Bible based video in his room.  On Wednesday nights Paul met with our teen boys and did Bible Studies with them while Liana and I did a Bible Study together maybe this could have been call our small group time.

Our family was growing closer and closer together.  Paul and the boys became close and Liana and I became mother/daughter friends.  God had us right where he wanted us in this season of our life.  Even though it was hard we tried our best to keep our eyes on God and be obedient in everything He wanted us to do.

We never missed a Sunday or Wednesday night for 6 months in our home.  God began moving in mine and Paul’s hearts…leading us both in the direction to begin searching for a church.  We begin to visit churches and praying that God would show us the right church.  We visited 2 churches and neither one of us nor the kids felt like God was leading us to either one.

I was searching online for churches in our area and came across Crosspoint Community Church which met in the movie theater behind the Mall in Decatur, AL.  I ask Paul to view their website and see what he thought about it.   I felt like from reading and listening to Pastor Dave sermons online…that this might be a place we could check out and the kids would like.

We had our first visit in June…(during this time Blake our oldest was in Basic Training at Fort Benning) we all thought it was awesome the first Sunday we were there.  We went back again the next Sunday, and the next…we were being drawn to this church.  I began to write Blake about the church while he was at Fort Benning…he was getting excited about it just through my letters.

Let me go back…the first time we visited Crosspoint, what stood out in my mind from the whole sermon was a comment that Pastor Dave made,  ”Crosspoint is a church that wants people that no other churches want,” man that got me fired up!  Pastor Daves sermon was awesome and the worship leader and band were worshiping exactly like we had been doing at home for the past 6 months.  Think that might have been God leading us?

Well guess what, we are still there and have not visited any other churches.  We are involved as volunteers for a portable church…which is the most awesome church I have ever been in or a part of.  Crosspoint is not there for the Christians, but for the lost.  Just as Jesus didn’t come for the religious but for the lost.  Mark 2:17  17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”  I’m not saying they don’t love the Christian body…but they need the christian body that comes there to get up off their butts and do Gods work.  Crosspoint wants to harvest the fields that are white to harvest of Morgan County, the City of Decatur and all surrounding cities and counties.  Crosspoint, the staff and volunteers are busy about this work and put their hearts into it.  Yes, it is hard work for them and many are up and at the theater setting up by 5:00 a.m. on Sunday morning then taking down after the service in time for the theatre to open. 

God is Blessing!  Crosspoint is doing 2 services now.  Paul and I have seen it double since we began attending.

Pastor Dave works a full-time job, his job has him traveling, but he never stops ministering to people!  He feeds and ministers to his sheep!  And is fired up about winning the lost to Christ and that is his Vision and his Vision for Crosspoint. 

As I look back on our trial of 2008, I see Jesus carrying my family because there is only one set of footprints.  I see him carrying us right into the doors of Crosspoint and giving us the opportunity to serve Him and be a part of a Vision I have never seen before.  Thank you God for leading and guiding us in this time of trial. 

Another thing I see as I look back over the years and that I have learned from our storm of 2008. is that I pretty much only had christian friends.  Since being at Crosspoint I have learned and have been challenged through the scripture and God speaking through Dave that it’s ok to hangout with or have lost friends.  That’s who Jesus wants! 

It’s ok for someone to come into Crosspointchurch with their houseshoes on.  It’s ok for someone to wear blue jeans on Sunday morning, it’s ok if someone comes into the service with 8 holes in each ear, it’s ok if someone comes in with tatoo’s on their body, it’s ok if a drunk comes in reaking of alcohol, it’s ok if a homosexual comes in, it’s ok if someone with marital problems or drug users come into our church (Crosspoint) on Sunday morning because that is who Crosspoint wants. 

How am I/you suppose to witness to somebody that doesn’t know me…are they going to listen?  Yes, I can be a witness by shuving the scripture down someones throat and MAYBE some would take me up on the offer and accept Christ as their Savior, then what…will they know what to do.  But, if I/you spend your time getting to know that lost person, showing that lost person how much I/you care, devoting our time, our prayers, helping that person out in ways that no one else could do…just maybe this person is going to get to know me/you and through me/you will come to know Christ.  What an investment of our time!  AWESOME!

So this is my taking on beginning the New Year 2009.  I am only going to make one New Years Resolution.   This is…to be OBEDIENT TO GOD IN… INVESTING MY TIME in getting to know HIM more… INVESTING MY TIME into getting to know lost people and WINNING them to CHRIST!  I need your prayers…I’m human, I guarantee you I will mess this up, but keep me lifted in your prayers that I will run the race that is set before me.

Hebrews 12:1-3  1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.^[a] Because of the joy^[b] awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people;^[c] then you won’t become weary and give up.

God Bless and Have a Happy and Blessed New Years 2009!

Do You Love Me? December 27, 2008

It seems as if we go through life wondering if our husbands, our children, family members and friends love us.  Sometimes we feel insecure about the other people in our life, and are not sure where we stand.  Even though we try to tell and show everyone we love them, they don’t seem to catch the answer…do people test our love for them? 

Do your children sometimes wear crazy clothes, put rings in their ears, color their hair in strange colors, and use bad language to see if you really love them?  I have to admit, I sometimes get upset at what my oldest son wears…haven’t had to worry about rings all over the body yet, strange colored hair or bad language (that I know of) lol.  Our whole culture is continually testing us to see if we really love them…don’t you think!

Before going to Crosspoint Community Church  I would look at others and say why in the world would they want to do that…is it for attention?  The recent series of “INKED” put all this in perspective for me…actually just attending Crosspoint changed my whole perspective on loving others as they are.  Why do we judge the outside?  It is not what is on the outside…but the inside!  Do they have Jesus, do they LOVE Jesus is what counts.  Have I done my part to share the love of Jesus to get others to love Him?

How about Peter and his love for Jesus. Check out this scripture John 21:15-22. 

15After breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

   ”Yes, Master, you know I love you.”

   Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

 16He then asked a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

   ”Yes, Master, you know I love you.”

   Jesus said, “Shepherd my sheep.”

 17-19Then he said it a third time: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

   Peter was upset that he asked for the third time, “Do you love me?” so he answered, “Master, you know everything there is to know. You’ve got to know that I love you.”

   Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. I’m telling you the very truth now: When you were young you dressed yourself and went wherever you wished, but when you get old you’ll have to stretch out your hands while someone else dresses you and takes you where you don’t want to go.” He said this to hint at the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And then he commanded, “Follow me.”

 20-21Turning his head, Peter noticed the disciple Jesus loved following right behind. When Peter noticed him, he asked Jesus, “Master, what’s going to happen to him?”

 22-23Jesus said, “If I want him to live until I come again, what’s that to you? You—follow me.” That is how the rumor got out among the brothers that this disciple wouldn’t die. But that is not what Jesus said. He simply said, “If I want him to live until I come again, what’s that to you?”

In this passage Jesus asks Peter three times (after His crucifixion and resurrection and Peter’s recent denial of Him) whether Peter really loves Him.

I believe that these basic questions…

• Do you love Me?  (verse 15)
• Do you love Me? (verse 16)
• Do you love Me? (verse 17)…

are in agreement with Peter’s three denials of Jesus (John 13:38)

  38“Really? You’ll lay down your life for me? The truth is that before the rooster crows, you’ll deny me three times.”

Jesus in His love for Peter wanted to give him a second chance to follow Him.  He didn’t want Peter to go all through life with the sin of denying Jesus before.  His crucifixion.  He wanted Peter to know that he was forgiven for his wrongdoings and that he could have a valuable ministry in spreading the gospel throughout the world.  Is this not what Jesus does for us?  Wow…thank God for 2nd chances!

But before Peter was able to confirm his love for Jesus, Jesus stated in verses 18 and 19 that the decision was going to cost him a price.  Some of you may remember Peter was crucified upside down about 40 years later.  After Jesus stated there would be a price for following Him Jesus said, “Follow ” and Peter did.

Isaiah 30:15   God, the Master, The Holy of Israel,
   has this solemn counsel:
“Your salvation requires you to turn back to me
   and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves.
Your strength will come from settling down
   in complete dependence on me-

Yes, love has its price, for us not always to the extreme of Peter’s, but a price of time, energy, commitment, money, and devotion. 

Is there someone in my/your life who is asking the very basic question “Do you love me?”  What is my/your reply? 

 

 

Can’t Get My Blog On…but I’ve Got My Mark On December 25, 2008

Sorry I haven’t blogged in a while…everything has been out of sorts for me this Christmas season!  I usually have all my gifts bought by Thanksgiving or right after!  I really screwed (sorry) messed that up this year!  I was shopping right up until Christmas Eve and still didn’t get stocking stuffers!  I know I am a terrible mom!  First year my kids has ever gone without stockings…they didn’t even get candy in the darn things.  It was if I was turning in circles.  My hubby did the shopping for our kids.  (All I had to do was buy for other family members and little odd and end stuff.)  On top of that my hubby wrapped all the presents. 

I don’t tell him enough how thankful I am for him, nor how much I love him.  God sent him to me for a reason…no one else can understand or would understand me.  I’m not saying my hubby does either but, he tolerates me!  He definitely has Galatians 5:22-23 in him.   22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control.  The funny part is, my hubby also thinks God gave me to him.  Isn’t that neat?  He saves me often from going off the deep end…sometimes I’m already in the deep murky stuff and he manages to pull me out, build my confidence, self-esteem and helps take away all those worries that I tend to have often…(yes, I know that is a sin).  When I talked about him being my hero…in my life story on this blog, on facebook and myspace…I mean’t it, he truly is.  When he took me as his wife, he mean’t every vow he said to me and he proves those to me daily.  I have never seen a man…not saying there is not one…but my hubby has always put his children before anything in this life besides Christ and myself.  Our family was built by him.  Even though our family has had life struggles and trials set before us, our faith in God and my hubby being the leader of our home  has helped us keep our eyes focused on Christ and not the situations we were in.  YES, it is definantly hard not to dwell on those difficult seasons in our life, but Jesus is our HOPE our Eternal HOPE.  This is the HOPE that we want others to know.  I can truly say there will never be another man in my life if my hubby goes to heaven before me.  I do have to admit that my hubby is…my hero #2.

My hero #1 is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for he died that I might be set free.

Romans 6:6-11   Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin’s every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That’s what Jesus did.

Now I know my blog started out pathetic, feeling sorry for myself.  But you know what?…my kids didn’t get as much this Christmas as they usually do and didn’t even whine about it…yes, everything was very hectic, but this has been a very happy and memorable Christmas for me and my family.  We have spent quality time with each other and have had church via internet at our home and celebrated Christ’s coming!  Now how can I leave this blog saying that I didn’t have a Wonderful Christmas! 

I really need to mention that I have many people who inspire me from my church, Crosspoint Community Church.  Our pastor, Dave Anderson , many friends on my twitter and facebook and the many friends on the right of my page that blog who keep me encouraged about church and the vision that our church has. 

Have you ever thought about being marked in Christ?  Our church just finished a series entitled ”INKED”, it definiately left a mark on our church and on me and my family.  Our pastor, did things in our church during this series that probably no other church in Alabama or anywhere close has ever done.  I’m quoting him, “We did it because it was THE VERY BEST WAY to communicate WHY Christ came to earth and show what our response should be.  When Christ came he left a permanent “mark” on this planet.  He left us here to continue that.”  Please follow this link to his blog and read “INKED” – IT MARKED US!  Also, read the INKED Stories that were told by some of my friends from Crosspoint.

I will leave you with CHRIST, MARKED, and to CONTINUE!

God Bless and Merry Christmas!

Christmas Blues….. December 9, 2008

Each year beginning before Thanksgiving, I begin to get hyped up about Christmas.  I think about decorating the outside and inside of my house, having it ready to reveal to the neighborhood on Thanksgiving night!  Every year it comes with great excitement.  This year it didn’t happen!  I mean give me a break I was only a couple of days off.

I truly love Christmas and the very meaning of it…Jesus.  But, every year I seem to get miserable around this time of year!  As I decorate I get more and more stressed as each ball goes on the tree, as each wreath goes on the window and as each strand of garland with lights and red bows are hung around my porch.  Grant it, I get it done.  I then feel like crap knowing it’s going to have to come down in a month! 

My Home for Christmas

Even seeing my home all lit up with spot lights, red bows, wreaths and lighted garland draped around my huge front porch, having 2 trees, one in the foyer, tall slim tree decorated in hot pinks, lime, purple and aqua blue. 

Foyer Tree

In the great room a Santa tree, of course decorated in Santa’s, all the kids stuff that was made at school, stuffed christmas animals and toys, big red and green balls and colored lights, a snow village with plenty of snow hanging from the mantle with stockings hanging from the fireplace insert, and my most favorite of all the manager scene, I still have the Christmas Blues.

Santa Tree

 

Snow Village

This year is even worse!  I have only bought 2 presents and I have 4 children.  Today is the 9th of December…I usually have my Christmas done by Thanksgiving or right after.  I tend to use online Christmas!  Can’t even do that this year, seeing that I have waited to late.  Does anyone have this problem?  Oh, I know I’m not the only one!

Stockings

Really…all I want for Christmas is to celebrate Jesus the Most High, Everlasting, Prince of Peace!

I would like to be relaxed and enjoy my family, some gift giving and some wonderful Christmas music with some eggnog!  That’s all I want for Christmas!

Manager Scene

Here is how I usually look at it, I feel like going into hibernation mode. I just want to curl up and sleep right thru the holidays.  I think I have seasonal affective disorder, ever what that is??  What’s even more difficult is trying to stay upbeat for my family and not bring them down, although I do tend to make them miserable while I’m putting all the decorations up.   They want to help and I’m rearranging everything they put up…not good!  As I am sitting here writing, the wind is blowing so hard, I hear decorations falling and hitting my porch!  Why is it everytime the decorations go up the wind begins to blow?   Happens every year!

While others, especially my children are counting the days until Christmas, I am counting the days until Christmas is over!  They should make a pill you can take to get rid of the Christmas blues!  I’m going to try my very best to get rid of my Christmas Blues starting now…relax and have a thankful Christmas.

Maybe I should start by saying what I’m thankful for:

1. Christ died for me that I may have eternal life with Him.
2. He changed my life when I accepted Him as my Savior.
3. God gave me a Christian Mom and Dad.
4. God gave me a very special husband that IS my hero, friend and the love of my life.
5. God gave me 4 beautiful and wonderful precious children.
6. God provided a way for me to stay home and raise my children.
7. God gave me a Pastor and Church Crosspoint Community Church that meets the needs of my family, I/we are blessed to be apart of the vision of Crosspoint…that is winning unsaved people to the Lord…Crosspoint is very serious about this vision.
8. God gave me my wonderful sisters.
9. God gave me my beautiful neices and nehews.
10. God gave me a special Mother and Father inlaw.
11. God gave me a beautiful home to live in.
12. I am thankful for the friends that have received me and my family at Crosspoint.

Well, I feel better, there is so many other things that I am thankful for and could have written, but this is a start and I will finish my list.  When God is in the picture their is no reason to feel so blue. we may be struggling with trials in our life and sometimes it’s not easy to face these trials, but who better to go through them with than our Lord Jesus Christ!  I pray that God will help me to focus on that which He has done for me and given me and take all the Christmas Blues out of my home.  How about yours?  Maybe you should make a list!

I will be praying for all you other Christmas Blues people.  I pray that each and everyone of you will, love Jesus, celebrate Jesus, love your family, relax, give your gifts and have a joyful time listening to some great Christmas music, drinking hot chocolate and eggnog!

Joy to the world, the LORD is coming!

Battered to Better…With Christ In My Life! (“My Life” Part 4) December 3, 2008

Just a little recap…alcohol, drugs (no needles) at age 16, sex at 18, and married into a marriage of adultery and abuse (physically and mentally) at age 20.

Here I am a 23 years old, a divorcee weighing in at 90 lbs. from lack of food and depression.  I had no job, lost at the time my ex-husband was arrested for selling drugs.  I didn’t want a job, was afraid of people, had low self-esteem, felt worthless, I was so fragile I mostly just wanting to die, but was afraid to.  Being raised in church, I KNEW I would go to hell. 

Being raised in a Christian home, I knew what Jesus did for me, I wanted to do what was right, I wanted a marriage with Christ and the church in it.  I had convictions when I did all these bad things in my life, but I had problems and I was screwed up.  Satan had me and I was not willing to change.  I believe I was definitely running from God.

After the divorce I could have gone back home to my parents, but chose not to, my life was a mess.  One of my sister’s offered her home, I would be able to stay with her until I could get on my feet.  I would go on interview after interview, it terrified me to interview with anyone especially a man.  I thought…who would hire someone that looked like me, and one that was so introverted as I was, no one!  I would cry myself to sleep at night and pray for God to get me out of this mess.  You know how you pray (I know you all know what I’m talking about) and ask God to do things for you?  The only time you call on Him is in your own time of need.  That is exactly what I was doing, feeling sorry for myself begging God to fix it, but not wanting to turn over anything to Him. 

In 1984 my oldest sisters friend got me a job at Mid-South Machinery in Athens, AL (Commercial John Deere Dealer, you know those BIG yellow ones) as a receptionist.  Oh my gosh, that was crazy, I was afraid to answer the phone (seriously).  Then they expected me to use a CB radio to talk to our mechanics that were in the field working on the the heavy equipment.  Not me, no way!  As days went on I begin to feel more comfortable with my job and the people I worked with.  I was promoted within 3 months of being there!  I began to help in the parts department.  Little 90 lb. me handling dozer parts!  Then I was sent to open a store in Tuscumbia, AL…good grief, I really did that!  I was getting more and more confident in myself.  After being there for 6 months I was promoted to Office Manager working directly for the Sales Manager.

Making more money, meant back into drugs and drinking.  I was making enough money to move out of my sisters and move in with a friend I went to school with.  Eventually our apartment became known as the “Animal House!”  People all over Decatur new of our parties even people in jail, because many people would get caught leaving our apartment.  It was nothing for my roommate and I to drink a 5th of Tequila and half case to a case of beer every night…party after party after party.  The police visited our apartment frequently, because of loud parties. 

I loved my job and made sure I was able to work everyday.  So now I’m in a completely different world from being married…I was loving it!  I was happy with my job and all the new friends I was making.  I was coming out of my shell, that I had been beaten in for 5 years total.

Let me switch gears now.  Sharing this is very hard and shameful for me, but I need to tell it to the ones that are reading my blog with similar problems.   Here goes…after getting a little confidence built up in me, having big parties every night, meeting new people, having new friends.  I decided I would treat guys like I had been treated in the past.  As the saying goes “love’m and leave’m!”  I did exactly that.  

Since being saved, I have told my story to youth groups and they would gasp as I would say, “I have been with more men than I can count on both of my hands!”  I couldn’t even tell you some of those mens names because of being messed up and drunk.  Then I would follow with this, “Sex is a good thing”,

Genesis 2: 24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

Hebrews 13:4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

We all are going to be tempted with sex this is Gods way out:

1 Corthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

“God says we shouldn’t have sex out of marriage, I want you to think about it like this,” “a piece of everyone of those men was stuck to me, when you have sex (the man and woman) become as “one” in Gods eyes.” 

1 Corithians 6:16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”

You can be forgiven and can be washed as white as snow, just like me!

Isaiah 1:18 ”Come now, let us reason together,”
       says the LORD.
       “Though your sins are like scarlet,
       they shall be as white as snow;
       though they are red as crimson,
       they shall be like wool.

At the end of 1984 I began a new job at Delta Research, Inc., Huntsville, AL.  This was an engineering firm…contractor for the government (Missile Defense).  I started as a receptionist.  This is where I met Paul who became my best friend.  We would hang out at bars after work and drink, I was still smoking marijuanna, Paul didn’t, matter of fact none of the ones that I hung out at work with smoked it. 

Eventually I was promoted to a technical typist and had to have a securtiy clearance so I came clean of drugs, I needed to keep this job, it was the best opprotunity I had ever had.  The Defense Investigative Service came back to me after there investigation of me and told me everything that I had done from my first husband on!  Unbelievable huh!  I had never been arrested, how could they know!  I told them that I still drank but did not do any drugs anymore.  I had several conferences with them and they finally gave me my security clearance. 

I promoted to Security Manager (over classified documents) in 1985 and then in 1989 I became Office Manager.  Paul and I had been friends during this time and would do things together with a group.  In June 1988 he ask me out and our relationship went from a friendship of 4 years to falling in love.  You couldn’t seperate us from each other at that point.  The thing about our relationship was we new about one anothers dirt!  When we started dating we began talking about what we wanted in a family.  We both wanted to raise our children in church although he was a little skeptic because of the experience he had as a teen in the church.  Within a couple of months I had moved in with Paul (Madison, AL) and then on February 24, 1989 we were married.

One of the ladies that worked with us would call me into her office often and witness to me.  I would sit and listen to her, I really wanted what she had.  She was planting a seed.  I got to where I would go to her office and talk to her and would cry but never make a commitment.

I found out I was pregnant in November 1989.  I quit drinking and smoking cigarettes with the wonderful news and was ready to become a mother.  Although I did have the most miserable pregnancy anyone could ever have, I think.  I was trying to go back to college for a Computer Science degree and just couldn’t handle it being pregnant.  I worked at Delta up until my 8th month of pregnancy.  I had Blake August 21, 1990.  By the time Blake was 4 weeks old he was a very sick baby.  We were in and out of hospitals, doctors running test…finding nothing.  Paul and I decided that it would be best that I stay at home with Blake so I quit my job at Delta in 1991.  I will talk about this trial with Blake later in another post.  

We moved from Madison to Somerville in 1991 so that I could be close to my parents.  I was so ready to settle down and have a family that went to church together and able to raise their children in church.  I began visiting a church in Priceville in January 1991.  The pastor at this church was my pastor at the church I grew up in during my teen years.  My parents were very close friends with he and his wife so they knew all about what had happened in my life all those years.

I began attending worship services regularly, Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night.  Blake was just about 5 months old and attended with me on Sunday mornings.  Paul still didn’t attend, very involved in his work and wanted his time off spent with his son.

In March 1991 I was saved by Gods grace.  It changed my life, of course it didn’t fix the stuff in my life that was screwed up or twisted at that very moment, but God started changing me!  It has been a long haul I am a picture of Old Testament Israel…so disobedient and stupid.

The pastor made a visit to Paul and said something that stuck in his mind and made him think about coming to church.  That quote was “there will always be hipocrites in the church, but it is better than the alternative.”  So in 1991 our family began our life together with Christ and the church.

I had to go through some rough stuff before I would let God take control of my life.  God has brought me a long way I can see Him in it every step of it.  He picked me up and carried me many times in my 1st marriage and is still carrying me now.  God is still working on me, “I’m under construction,” and will be under construction until He takes me to be with Him.

There is so much more I could share about what I have done and where I have been in my life, but I just wanted to touch on some pieces of it.  I hope that in reading this, if you are in an abusive relationship you seek help in Gods word and others.  If you think God could never forgive you for what you have done, look back at my life one more time and see where I was and what He has done for me.  I am thankful that I gave my life to Him, I now have that loving husband, that loves God and 4 beautiful children that are letting God lead their lives also.  We all attend Crosspoint Community Church and are serving as God leads us and are very fortunate to be in a church that has a vision like Crosspoint.