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Challenge Accepted: My Personal Journey

August 11, 2023 by Lauren 12 Comments

challenge acceptedA couple of weeks ago, our pastor issued a challenge to our church from the pulpit.  Using a speech Paul gave in Acts 26 for inspiration, he asked us to write down the story of our personal journey with Jesus and then pray about who we could send it to.  Challenge accepted!  In addition to a young lady I’m mentoring, I decided to send mine out to the world wide web.

My Life Before Knowing Jesus:

 

I grew up in a Christian home with a twin sister and younger sister.  My school-teacher parents loved us and had us at church every time the doors were open.  In fact, my dad worked as a part time worship minister in several of the small churches we attended.  At the age of 12, I started to feel a burden.  I understood that I was a sinner, meaning that I disobeyed God’s laws as taught to us in the Bible, and that I would never be able to obey them perfectly.  As much as I might want to.  I also knew from reading my Bible and going to Sunday School classes that I could not truly be in relationship with God because of my sin.  Our perfect God cannot have anything to do with sin.  But I knew that although the punishment laid out in scripture for sin is death, Jesus, God’s Son (who had never sinned) died in my place to take the punishment for my sin.

 

All I had to do was confess my sin and my need for a Savior and put my trust in Jesus’s death to save me from my sin.  But I was afraid.  I’m not really sure why, except that I knew this was a big, life changing commitment to God.  Every Sunday at the end of the church service, the preacher would invite people to come forward and make this commitment.  I would get a nervous knot in my stomach every week, knowing that I needed Jesus, but lacked the courage to do anything about it.

 

How I Came Into Relationship With Jesus:

 

Every year I went to summer camp with my church group.  During rest time one afternoon our camp counselor gave me a pamphlet about becoming a Christian.  It contained no information I didn’t already know, but I knew in my spirit that it was time to stop delaying and commit my life to Christ.  So I prayed there on my camp bunk to ask God to forgive me of my sins and help me make Jesus the Lord of my life.  I also understood that I would get to spend eternity with God in heaven.

 

My Life Since Knowing Jesus:

 

As soon as I committed to following Jesus, I felt a burden lift.  The burden of being separated from God by my sin was removed.  I felt lighter and relieved.  That was over 37 years ago.  Through middle school and high school, I surrounded myself with others who were following Jesus and attended church and youth group activities regularly.  At college, I fell in with some negative influences and rebelled in so many ways I never imagined I would.  I fell away from church and God’s people as I tested a different way of life and to decide if the faith I was raised with was how I really wanted to live.  After college and all the parties were over, I was lonely and ashamed of the things I had done.  God drew me back to Him as I made my faith and beliefs my own.  I no longer believed in Jesus because that’s what my parents believed.   Life without Him at the center was incredibly empty.  I knew life worshipping and serving Him was better.

 

I met my husband Chuck and helped raise his son and two daughters of our own.  There have been many hardships through the years, including caring for a medically fragile special needs child, step-family dynamics, job insecurity, both of us surviving cancers, the mental illness of family members, and things that have to remain unspoken for the privacy of others.  But through it all, we have the promise of Phil 4:13 NIV, which says we can do all things through Christ who gives us the strength.  And not only can I do all things when I ask God to help me, but I have a joy regardless of my circumstances.  Whether times are good or bad.  Proverbs 10:28 NIV tells us that “The prospect of the righteous is joy…”  I am not righteous in and of myself.  I never could be.  But Jesus made me righteous in God’s sight that day on my camp bunk.  And I can have joy because I know that nothing can ever take that righteousness and salvation away.

 

Response:

 

I am sealed and made a child of God – enjoying relationship with Him now and for eternity in heaven.  This is my assurance, my joy and my peace. I am so very grateful for all Jesus did to rescue me, and I’m also grateful that you let me share my story.  I would love to hear your story as well or answer any questions you may have about mine.  There is nothing more important I could talk to you about!  And if you are a believer in Jesus, I challenge you to write out your testimony (use the same outline if you want).  Then pray about who you could send it to.  There are so many around us who need to hear about this life-saving good news.  If you choose to accept this mission (Don’t worry.  It won’t self-destruct either way.), I would love for you to send a copy to me at [email protected].  I can’t wait to encourage you and be encouraged.

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

Friendship is such an important thing in my life, so I could not choose between Donna Reidland’s Uncommon Friends and Natalie Ogbourne’s Don’t Walk Alone:  How to Be Prepared.  Check them out!

The Link Up

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

 Now Let’s Link Up!

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Filed Under: Christian, Grace & Truth Link Up, Jesus, Rescue, salvation, serving

Comments

  1. Barbara Harper says

    August 11, 2023 at 2:53 pm

    I enjoyed reading your testimony, Lauren! I love hearing how God led people to Himself. I wrote my testimony our fairly soon after starting a blog: https://barbaraleeharper.com/testimony/.

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      August 12, 2023 at 12:53 pm

      Thank you for sharing with us, Barbara!

      Reply
  2. Lisa Blair says

    August 11, 2023 at 3:25 pm

    Thank you for sharing your beautiful testimony with us, Lauren!

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      August 12, 2023 at 12:52 pm

      Thanks for reading, Lisa!

      Reply
  3. Tea With Jennifer says

    August 12, 2023 at 7:09 pm

    Thank you for sharing your testimony with us Lauren, it has given me great encouragement today as I watch a much loved young adult in our family wandering, away from God, & their previous commitment to Him, down a path of great concern to me.

    My testimony, that I also shared with the world, is in; https://teawithjennifer.blog/my-story/
    Blessings, Jennifer 🙂

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      August 15, 2023 at 9:59 am

      Thanks for sharing your testimony back, Jennifer!

      Reply
  4. Paula Short says

    August 13, 2023 at 12:13 pm

    Lauren, thank you so very much for sharing your testimony and being raw and transparent. I love when God lets us know when the time is right for us to share something personal. I love those “you too… I thought it was just me” moments. It’s in those moments when readers are touched that we may not know and that’s okay by me because God does.
    Visiting today from G&T

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      August 15, 2023 at 9:59 am

      Thank you for engaging with my testimony, Paula!

      Reply
  5. Lynn says

    August 15, 2023 at 9:51 am

    That is an inspiring testimony. I understand the falling away as a young adult, and then coming back to the Lord. It wasn’t until my mid-forties that I was all in again. It’s never too late to receive God’s grace!

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      August 15, 2023 at 9:58 am

      I’m so grateful to Him that it’s never too late! Thanks for engaging with my story, Lynn.

      Reply
  6. Natalie Ogbourne says

    August 20, 2023 at 8:14 am

    Thanks for accepting the challenge and sharing your story with us. Those things tend to have ripple effects… Thanks for featuring my post, as well.

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      August 22, 2023 at 11:36 am

      It was my pleasure to share your post and thank you for reading my story and interacting with it.

      Reply

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About Me

I love Jesus, my husband and caffeine. The order of these can change depending on how tired I am. When my two daughters, stepson, and 4 grandchildren get to be too much, I practice yoga. God graciously allows me to share our adventures, victories and flub-ups from my laptop. May He be glorified here.
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