My testimony

Preach the word; be ready in season & out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience & instruction (2 Tim. 4:2 NASB)

I believe this applies to all of us & not just "preachers." I've said before we all have a testimony & it's often our most effective "sermons.". It's what God is doing in our lives & I believe it is so effective because a lot of times others are going through similar things. So today you get my testimony.  No ral dramatic events but more of a story of how God has revealed Himself to me.  I was born into a Christian family & growing up most everybody I knew was a Christian. My grandpa was a pastor & I grew up in church my whole life.  I became a Christian at a young age & tried to live my life as I thought God wanted me too. I went on to college, there I met a Philosophy instructor who often misquoted the Bible which was really my first "challenge" to Christianity.  It was good for me because it made me research what I believed.  He didn't change my beliefs probably only made them stronger.  I went on to become a deacon at my church & again was doing what I thought God wanted me to do.  Looking back, I believe I was but I had no idea God had so much more planned.  Life was going along pretty smoothly when all of a sudden turbulence hit.  I believe it was some bad decisions on my part, bad circumstances, but I believe God intended to push me out of my comfort zone.  I think God has to get us out of there to get us where He needs us.  Suddenly I was having some (at least for me) serious financial troubles & some stress related health issues.  Both of which were new & unexpected for me.  God has helped bring me out of those but I have since continued to struggle with waiting on the next bad thing to come along. That is not how God wants me to live my life.  Then, ministry has been much more difficult than I thought. I thought that as long as I was doing what God wanted me to, God would keep the struggles to a minimum.  I forgot He needed to grow me. I went to a church to pastor for a while & saw how people don't always believe God is in charge of the church.  I also met many good people but it was time for me to go. Little did I know that God would open the door for this blog & myfacebook devotions.  I also realize that those things are just the beginning.  We can do ALL things through Him & nothing without Him!