Redeemed53

************************************************************ First of all, Please FORGIVE me if I have not responded back to your comments, messages or FRIEND REQUESTS right away. My current job is very time consuming and on top of that, trying to do bible studies and other things for the church leaves me little time to respond to all my friends. Know that I love you all and pray for you, but do not think I have forgotten any of you. I will try to add blogs from time to time so you know what is going on in my head. I no longer have IM, sorry... will have to communicate the old way, or send me an e-mail. God Bless you all!! R53********************************************************* ***MY TESTIMONYI am a Thief. I have wasted valuable time, energy and my life pursuing selfish motives. I have stolen precious quality time from my children that can never be replaced. Time that I could have experienced peace and joy. I have taken things that were not mine and justified why they should be mine. I coveted what others had......................................................... ... I am a Liar. I have hidden the truth because I did not want to be accountable for my actions. I lied because I didn’t want to hurt someone’s feelings or confront an ugly situation. I’ve lied to myself about whom I was and justified every untruth, even in my pain because I didn’t want to acknowledge it because it hurt too much........................................................ .... I am a Murderer. I’ve hated and held bitterness in my heart. I have aborted a life because it was “inconvenient”. I’ve rebelled against authority and despised my parents and all others who would “rule” over me…even God. I hated men and what they had done to me and vowed to hurt them all back. Hurt people, hurt people. I have broken all of God’s Ten Commandments. I was heading down a hill, full speed to destruction with what seemed like no brakes. I inflicted injury to myself as punishment and consumed lots of alcohol to numb the pain and sadness. Even my sleep wasn’t without nightmares. I was medicated with drugs that made me a walking non-emotional zombie. ...........................................................I was depressed, lonely and stuck in a vicious cycle of searching for “love”, getting the wrong kind and then consumed with guilt would die in shame. I had let down so many people; I couldn’t keep promises and felt horrible. The weight of all my sins was so heavy on me, I had nowhere to go but on my knees because God had other plans for my life. He interrupted my prescheduled suicide mission.( Praise and glory!) I was driving down the main street thinking about how I was going to do this deed when I was coming up to a church that had its doors open and music coming out. My car seemed to go in autopilot and pulled over to the side and I got out and my feet started walking to the front doors and to my surprise, took me inside. (This was not in my plans?) I was greeted by many people and handed a song sheet. I told the lady who handed it to me, “I don’t know any of these songs”. She assured me it was okay because they played them over a few times, so I would learn them quickly. She asked me what had brought me in and I told her I wasn’t planning on coming in but was going to drive my vehicle off the cliff into the river. The next thing I knew the Pastor was talking to me and had told me God had a plan for my life and how He could change it. It sounded better than anything I had planned. Heck, I already made a mess of the life I was living, why not give Him a chance? So I was baptized in the Coeur D’Alene River along with two other people. Although I didn’t come up with a glowing surrounding me, I felt different inside. I learned to love people and how forgiveness works. I had to learn to forgive myself and accept Jesus love for me. I am NOT the person I was. God used all my sorrows to minister to other people because I could honestly relate to their pain. Now I have several ministries I am involved with and I love to study and tell people about Jesus and how he saved a wrench like me. I made a mess of my life, but God took this bad apple and made some awesome applesauce. ...........................................................I have had different experiences in my walk with Jesus when I started listening to His voice. On one occasion, I was sitting in the middle row of the church on the outside aisle, when a young man I didn’t know sat right in front of me. I didn’t think much of it, but during the service, God told me to put my hand on his shoulder. I said “What?” He repeated the command. “Put your hand on his shoulder.” I replied, “But, God, I don’t know this man, he may think I have a question and turn around and I’d be embarrassed, or he might think I am being fresh, or…and before I could justify being disobedient one more time He said “PUT YOUR HAND ON HIS SHOULDER!”, okay… so I leaned slightly forward and raised my hand a little thinking maybe I could just touch his shirt and he wouldn’t notice my fingertips, but no sooner had a lifted my hand and moved it slightly forward, it was like a magnet drew my hand hard and flat on his shoulder. But the shock came when he clasped his hand over mine and then started weeping and his body trembled and my hand was locked on his shoulder tightly! His cries got louder and I am looking around and thought people were looking at me. I was thinking they must have wondered what I did or said to him for I was still leaned over with his hand locking mine in place. Where I saw people thinking weird things about me, God was seeing a man who needed encouragement. After a while he let go and I sat back quietly and a little lower in the pew. The man approached me after church and said Thank you. I looked at him in surprise and he said he reluctantly came into church saying to himself. No way God will ever forgive me, and at the time I placed my hand on his shoulder he said God clearly told him, “I love you and forgave you and sent my Son to die for you”. He said at that moment he knew God cared. Wow… ...........................................................A nother time I was driving down the road and it was snowy out and I saw a hitchhiker, I am not in the habit of picking up strangers but as I was driving up to where he was and looking over saying to myself, “Boy, it is cold sure hope someone picks him up”. Just about the time I passed, God told me to turn the car around and go pick him up. I said “What?” What if he is a killer or a murdered or rapiest?” But His words were very clear, so I obeyed. As I came back around and up to the man, he came up to the window which I rolled down about “1 inch” and said meekly…”You need a ride?” He said “Yes please!” and as he got in the car and was warming his hands by the heater he said he had been walking for 2 hours and no one picked him up and he said he cried out to God because it was so cold and asked Him for help, and if He would please find someone to give him a ride.. and when I pulled up He said he was thanking God that someone still listens to His voice and obeyed. ...........................................................W ow, who knows how far and few are the people who listen. Two hours? That was a busy street and many cars had passed him up. How sad. Then I felt a tinge of pain that I had passed him up also. Oh… I listen to His voice now. I don’t ever want to disobey when there is a chance I can be a blessing or a tool in His hands. It made me think, do we really know God’s voice and are we willing to do what He asks, no matter how crazy it sounds? These are just two of the experiences I have had when I listened to God. There are many more and maybe others saw me as an angel answering prayer. I just pray if I ever need someone, God is able to find someone to answer my prayers too. We never know when we are entertaining angels. Do onto others as you’d have them do unto you. ...........................................................S ome of my photos....