Testimony of a Teen: I Am Understood ~By Dakota William Reasoner

"And sometimes I'm so thankful for your loyalty,

Your love regardless of the mistakes I make will spoil me,
My confidence is, in a sense, a gift you've given me
And I'm satisfied to realize you're all I'll ever need"

Those are some of the lyrics to Reliant K's song: I Am Understood. I picked up that CD at about nine years old having no idea that they were a Christian group at all. Seven years later that’s my favorite song. It’s like it describes my faith for me. I can’t believe how well I relate to it. God uses that song to remind me that no matter how many of those mistakes I make he still loves me regardless. And it also relates to my testimony, so let me share it with you.

My name is Dakota William Reasoner, (But you already know that). I was born on January 9, 1995 in Joplin, Missouri. I currently attend Abundant Life Christian Center in Joplin, where I’ve attended since 2007. When I was growing up on the west side of town, my Dad worked for CFI and my Mom ran a day-care at home. Things were alright at home during the day with the other kids, but once my dad got home there would be lots of screaming and yelling. My Dad and my Sister (who has a different father) didn’t get along at all, and eventually my Sister left to stay with our Aunt.

When I was about five, my Mom told me her and my Dad weren’t going to be married anymore. At the time I didn’t understand what exactly this meant. But thankfully, my Mom and Dad got along, and still do, so I was able to spend time with both of them. My Mom remarried and we moved across town. I started elementary school, got on a school bus for the first time, and sat down next to some red-headed kid. His name was Spencer. That day we became best friends.

I remember Spencer telling me and our friends about the things he had learned at Church, and we laughed at him. I went to Church with my Mom, where we sang a few hymns, took Communion and then left. I didn’t like going at all. But Spencer was telling me of this Jesus fellow who I had not really heard of. He invited me to come to Church with him multiple times, but naturally I declined. When I think back, the other guys were pretty mean to him about it, and I never stood up for him. Eventually it got bad enough, Spencer had to change schools. But then middle school came and we were going to school together again and we found out Jr. High was rough. We certainly did not fit the expectations for being “cool” or “popular”. But of course we had to try, so you could find us at ‘The Bridge’ unsuccessfully hitting on girls we had just met, cussing and laughing and talking about stupid things we didn’t actually know anything about. We thought we were real big shots.

Then there was a girl. She invited me to Church with her. And I said “sure.” You know, ‘cause she would be there. And once I went, it wasn’t so bad! In fact, I rather enjoyed it. Church was all of a sudden fun... and crawling with girls!

Yup, I was goin’ to Church for the girls. I could’ve cared less about pleasing God at that point in my life. But some of the guys from school were at that church and they didn’t like me and wanted to make sure I didn’t come back. So I didn’t. A few weeks later Spencer asked me to come to his church one more time. So I did. I was hoping it would be close to the same thing, and it was. But... Oh Crap... Now I have to sit through an hour of the youth pastor, Bryan, talking. I didn’t like Bryan all too well. I was very quick to judge him. I was willing to sit through that though since I enjoyed the social time before Service.

After a few Wednesday night services I decided to start listening to him, and what he had to say intrigued me. I had never heard of this God who created the whole universe yet wanted a personal relationship with... me. All I had ever heard of was the creating the universe part. I just didn’t think that God would be interested in somebody who wasn’t even accepted at church! I also refused to believe that I was accepted at this church. It only took one individual making it clear that he didn’t like me for me to tell Spencer that I was leaving and I was never coming back.

During that time away from church I changed schools because of rejection. And I also decided that I didn’t want to live anymore. I had intentions of slitting my own throat, and I was really going to do it. But, as I was starting to go through with it I realized I didn’t know where I was going to go when I died. I didn’t know what it took to get into Heaven, and I was too afraid of Hell to take that chance.

I just wanted somebody to walk in on me and see what I was contemplating doing and for hours nobody came despite my yelling. And finally, after my lungs had given out, somebody came to save me, and I passed out on the floor. I woke up the next morning and told myself I had to get back to church. I had found something there. Naturally, Spencer called me up and invited me to a Friday Night Hang-out. Go- Ministries from Minnesota was there and they were really cool. One of the “Go Interns” from Kentucky, Cody, sat down with me and explained to me who Jesus Christ is and who gets into Heaven. He explained to me that nobody is an accident, not even me and my seemingly worthless life. Cody and Spencer convinced me to go to the youth camp that next weekend called Lake Invasion. I went and I gained a desire to apply the things that Bryan, the youth pastor, had talked about to my life.

For the first time, I truly believed in this God I had heard so much about. It felt so happy. I guess that’s what being in God’s presence will do. The next Sunday, May 15, 2008 Pastor Larry Bjorklund ended his sermon with an altar call and I gave my life to Jesus Christ.

From that moment on there was nothing more important than my relationship with Christ. All I want to do now is serve Him and worship Him. And I hope to continue doing that by joining the Go Ministries Internship program in Minnesota. And then later becoming a pastor and showing people that same love that snagged me before I threw my young life away completely. And by the way, the youth pastor Bryan, that I didn’t care for at first, is now one of my closest friends and somebody I look up to. I’ve never felt more accepted anywhere as I do at Abundant Life Christian Center, where I’ve gained a Faith Family and more importantly, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Finally, I Am Understood.

Dakota William Reasoner, Joplin, Missouri

Note from Ronda~

Dear Dakota William Reasoner,

I am *OVERJOYED* that God’s love snagged you too.

Life is not easy when you are a teenager; kids are mean. I remember when we first moved to Joplin and came to Abundant Life you were SO welcoming to us. You have always been a ball of friendly energy. We liked you immediately. We are so grateful to have you in our lives and we love your company, and your friendship.

I know that you are going to do amazing things for Jesus by sharing your love for Him with others. You have a powerful testimony that you can minister to others who have felt the sting of rejection, the taunting of peers, the cruelty of this time and place… Don’t let anything snuff that light. You shine SO bright!

You are such a blessing.

Your Sister in Christ,

Ronda


Also, Happy Birthday to Sam.  I love you Honey.

Focus Found ~By Erika Mitchell

Hello! I’m Erika, a writer, wife, mother, and child of God. I’m also a daughter, sister, and a friend, but that’s not relevant to the story I’m trying to tell. I also have trouble staying on task. But again, not relevant.

Or maybe it is. You see, of all these roles of mine, child of God is far and away the most important. This is the one that should hold my focus most. All the rest of them are a tenuous house of cards, but that one’s eternal. Unchanging. It’s The Big One.

I forget that though. A lot. In fact, I’ve spent the past year and a half or so forgetting it. Or, rather, relegating it to the back of my mind where I touch on it occasionally but rarely take it out for a good old-fashioned spin.

You see, I had a baby a year and half ago and it turns out that being a mother is busy and distracting. Going to church is a lot harder with a baby, especially a baby who reacts to the church nursery like it’s filled with mustard gas. In the miasma of feedings, wakings, laundry, and growth spurts I’ve let my focus slide off God.

It doesn’t make me a bad person. Just an exceedingly human one.

What doesn’t help is that I’m also a writer. Just had my first book published, in fact. I have approximately thirty stories swirling around my head at any given time, and if I get a spare minute I’m either writing or thinking about writing. So between the writing and the adorable baby, I clear out exactly no time for God. I don’t read the Bible. I rarely pray. I love God, but my spiritual growth has stagnated.

I’m not unaware of the situation. I’ve been praying for months now for God to wake up my heart. To give me a passion and thirst for His word. To renew my spirit.

He answered in the most awesome way.

I got trolled when my book came out, and some people were exceedingly unkind in their opinions on my writing. It all made for a very bad day, so I shared that with my friends in the hopes of some encouragement.

Ronda responded (because she’s a terrific friend) and offered to make me biscotti, then suggested I might like to write about the experience. To share how God has blessed me. Well, it turned out the offer in itself was how God blessed me in that situation.

It led to a heartfelt conversation between Ronda and I, during which I felt like Ronda’s passion for Christ was like a breath of fresh air to my stagnant spirit. We both felt it, and after she prayed for me and we hung up I felt refreshed. Made new. On fire for God and exuberantly joyful about it.

It amazes me that God can take the cruelty of strangers on the Internet and make something beautiful come out of it. I’m just glad Ronda had prepared her heart to be receptive to being used by God to help a friend.

Erika Mitchell, Sammamish, Washington

Note from Ronda~

Dear Erika,

You are such a gifted writer.  I love reading your witty blog blips, and the first two chapters of your book had me craving more and I can't wait til it comes out in print when I will be able to snatch one up.  I give God all glory and credit for prompting our conversation and for gentle nudges from friends.  I have had many nudges, some shoves, some shakes, some "what the heck are you doin?!?'s" and in all that I too have been tremendously grateful.  God is constantly at work in us if we desire to be worked on.

The Holy Spirit is a gentleman...he won't pry, he won't go where he is not welcome.  I am greatful that I got to be a part of your story, and that he is working in your life.  I will be keeping you on my prayer list and in front of my eyes.

And I was thrilled that you loved the Biscotti!

Xoxo,

Ronda

For those of you who would like to check out Erika's writing you can find her over at http://www.parsingnonsense.com/.

BEER, Bikers, and Bibles...a story of salvation. By Marie Fissori

I had a career as a computer operator for a bank, drove a new car, lived with a very handsome man on acreage in a nice home and denied myself nothing. I had everything I was told one needed to strive for in life and it was all meaningless. Now what? I wasn’t even 20 yet. Where was the joy all this stuff was suppose to give me? My homeless friend had been right after all. He had told me the meaning of life was to make yourself as comfortable as you can until you die. I had been appalled at that thought but I was living it. I shared these feelings of emptiness with some friends of mine and they figured I needed a trip to the river so off we went for a day of fun.

When we got there, there were two bikers with a six pack of beer. Beer… you know the generic type with the white can and black BEER written on the side. Good stuff. I asked if I could buy one and they obliged. My friends were recovering alcoholics and didn’t drink as was one of the bikers. We made plans to have a BBQ at the sober biker’s house. Armed with directions, we headed out and couldn’t find his driveway. We knew we were close so we stopped and asked some kids playing in their yard if they knew where he lived and they pointed at the driveway almost directly across the street. Our host had Bible verses written all over the place and my friends began talking to him about Jesus. It seems they all knew him with the exception of the beer drinker.

My restlessness became worse. Routine, responsibility and work began to drag on me. I was hopeless. I figured a new fur coat would help and lunch at McDonalds… a “Happy Meal” maybe? At McDonald’s there was an older man cleaning the lobby with a bounce in his step. He was greeting everyone with an enthusiastic “How are ya today?” and when they replied, he would exclaim, “Well, PRAISE JESUS!”… I looked at him and thought, “What does he have to be so happy about? He’s about 60 and working at McDonalds!” Off to work I went trying to ignore all the Jesus stickers on the cars in front of me at every light. There has to be something to this Jesus I thought. Why else would there be so many crosses around.

I wanted to run away so again I talked about how I felt with my friends. This time my friend suggested I go talk to our biker friend so she called him. When I got on the phone he asked how I was doing and I said fine. Then he said, “How are you REALLY doing?” and I burst into tears. He told me to come over to his house after work and we would talk. I worked nightshift so at midnight off I drove out to Machias and as is my custom got lost. I drove up and down the road I knew his driveway was on but nothing looked familiar at night. That’s when my brand new car began to overheat! I couldn’t believe it! I pulled over to let the car cool down and to take my fur coat off. I stepped out of the car and there it was. The yard where the kids had been playing when we asked directions. His driveway was right across the street. It was 1:00am when I pulled in. A man came out of the mobile home and for an instant I was scared I had the wrong place. He had shaved his beard and I didn’t recognize him. He gave me a hug and a cup of fresh brewed coffee.

He told me that Jesus died for me. That God wanted me to have a life filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control but my sins had separated me from these very things I craved. I needed new life and God had made a way for me to have it. He talked to me for about an hour when he finally said he had to get ready for bed. He worked day shift. “Here, listen to this.” He put on a tape of Chuck Swindol preaching from the book of John about the crucifixion. There was a Bible sitting in front of me so I just flipped it open and looked down. The words that I was looking at were coming out of the recorder. We were both reading “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6. My heart seized… this God was REAL and I knew I was in big trouble. I had committed every sin I knew of including murder.

Okay, I was ready to cross that line. My friend came out of the bathroom and I told him I was ready to give my life to Jesus… but no way was I going to pray out loud. He said there was no need. God knows your heart. I prayed and said, “God, forgive me for the horrible things I’ve done please take my life.” It was then that I felt my heart become whole and my whole body fill with a vibrancy that I’d never felt before. I felt like I was walking two feet off the ground. My friend laughed and told me it was the Holy Spirit. I wanted more (still do)! It was late though and we had to go to bed. My friend slept on the couch and I took the Bible into the bedroom with me and put it on the headboard. Then I prayed and said, “God, if this feeling is gone in the morning you can forget about this kid. I will chalk it up to too much coffee, a late night and zeal.”

The next morning the first thing I did was grab the Bible, close my eyes, randomly open it and ran my finger down the page and stopped. I opened my eyes to the verse, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22,23... Such awesome truth has been new EVERY morning for the past 30 years…. ♥

Marie Fissori, Snohomish, Washington

Note from Ronda~

Dear Marie,

You have one of the friendliest, cheerful dispositions I have ever seen.  You are a BRIGHT shining light for Christ and I know that you bring a smile to his face and joy to his heart. Thank you so much for sharing your salvation story with us.  I am honored to know such a wonderful woman of God.  You are a blessing to so many.

Keep on Rockin sista!

Love your Sister in Christ,

Ronda

AMEN! ~By Fern Soderstrom

When Ronda sent me a message and said, “Your Turn” I started to panic (*:*) How would I pare down nearly 60 years to something worth reading in just few minutes?

I asked the Lord for guidance, took a deep breath, waited a few days, then began . . .

I was born and raised in Long Beach, CA. I have one sibling, a twin brother, Forrest Kendall. He and his wife, Carol are serving the Lord as full-time missionaries in Antiqua, Guatemala (pictured below). Together, they run a non-profit organization called Servants 4 Him. Our parents had quite the sense of humor, don’t you think? I mean, Forrest & Fern – Seriously? We had an uncle who called us “Field & Stream” – Cute, eh?

I grew up thinking I was a Christian. I went to church on Sundays, sang in the choir, participated on Wednesday nights at youth group, etc. I was even baptized by sprinkles of water on the forehead when I was an infant. I didn’t have anything to compare it to, so I thought I was “good with God” and that if/when I died, I would go to heaven. I mean, that’s where all good people go, right? I didn’t take my Bible to church. Rather, there was a reading of Scripture each week and then we heard a message about some practical application of the weekly Scripture. We were basically taught “how to be a nice person” then we were released to do whatever we wanted the rest of the week.

After high school, and a short stint as a character at Disneyland, I started working in corporate America. For the next 18 years, my life was a mess. I ran away from God. But, I still thought I was a Christian – Still believed I was a good person. By the world’s standards, I was well-adjusted, well-educated, had a good job, made good money, was responsible and respected by my peers. In reality, I was date raped – started partying and drinking – Got pregnant and our youth pastor took me to have an abortion – graduated from college – started living a life of serial monogamy – snow skied competitively – went to aerobics classes – played tennis – got married and divorced – ran in 5k and 10k races – went back to school and got an MBA – participated in Toastmasters International – bought my own home - traveled for business – wore nice clothes and shoes – had a very active social life. I still thought I was a good person; that I had it “all together” – my life was comfortable, and on the surface I looked great. But, there was a big hole in my life and none of my so-called friends could tell me what was missing. None of them could see any reason for my restless feeling of emptiness.

Then, in the late 1980’s my brother was visiting and suggested that we attend church together. He knew of a church in my community in Thousand Oaks, CA (where I had moved because of my work in 1984). There, for the first time I actually attended a church where the congregation was asked to open their Bibles and learn what it said. One Saturday evening service I went forward during an alter call and asked the Lord to forgive my past misunderstandings about who He was, to forgive my years of sinful and immoral behavior, to forgive me for thinking I was one of His when I didn’t know Him at all, to come into my heart, to guide my path from that day forward. I began attending Bible studies, home fellowship groups, women’s studies, training classes, etc. I affixed a fish symbol to the trunk of my car and even bought personalized license plates that read: MBA4GOD – I wanted everyone to know I was one of His.

My life verse became Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

I am so thankful for the friends and family members who continued to pray for my salvation during all those years. It seemed so unbelievable, after everything I had done to disappoint the Lord, that He would still love me, still give me a chance to love Him, still care about my future. But, Scripture teaches us that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

In June 1990 I was assigned to a 6-week position in the Puget Sound area. I met my husband, Starr during that time. The Lord gave us both a chance to do marriage the way He intended it, with Him as the focus. It is overwhelming for us both to think God loves us so much that He would allow us this opportunity and blessing of a union in Christian marriage. We were married in Sept 1991. Wanting to publicly identify ourselves as believers, we exchanged wedding rings with the fish symbol circling the bands. God had changed my heart so dramatically, I openly wept as I walked down the aisle to The Lord’s Prayer. What a blessed day and how gracious is our Lord to give us this opportunity. I moved into Starr’s home and became an instant step-mother to two young boys, Erik 14 and Alex 10.

We immediately began “church shopping” and visited many churches in the Everett, Lake Stevens, Snohomish, Marysville, Granite Falls & Monroe communities. Something kept calling us back to Machias Community Church. We finally realized one day that it was the Holy Spirit calling us to be part of this local church body, under the pastoral leadership of Ron Sallee. We have been there for about 18 years.

After following Christ for decades, I felt the Holy Spirit was gently nudging me to take another step in my Christian “walk” and on Resurrection Sunday (Easter) this year, I was baptized. As I was asked to say a few words before the baptism, I let the congregation know that I have been a Christian for a long time. I thought that baptism was not necessary because I had been “sprinkled” as an infant. But, through the classes I have attended at Contender’s Bible School, the lessons from adult Sunday School, the Bible Studies and home fellowship groups, I came to the realization that I was too young to understand at the time of my sprinkling what baptism by immersion symbolizes. I did not connect the symbolic death, burial and resurrection.

After all these years, as I approach my 60^th birthday, I took that step of obedience. I realize that no matter how old we are, no matter how long we have known Jesus as our personal Savior, we are all works on progress. Scripture tells us that He who began a good work will be faithful to complete it (Philippians 1:6).

Part of my daily routine now includes praying the “whatever” verses (Philippians 4:8) to the Lord. I usually do this as I am getting ready for work in the morning. I ask the Lord to help guide me to: Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.

Recently, I began (along with others in our home fellowship group) to pray Romans 12:1&2 back to the Lord, asking Him to guide me. Lord, I offer my body as a living sacrifice, holy to you. Lord, I no longer want to conform to the pattern of this world. Please transform me and renew my mind. Lord, I seek your good, pleasing and perfect will for my life – Amen

So, while I was momentarily panic-stricken at the thought of sharing my testimony on Ronda’s blog spot, I quickly embraced the idea and was reminded that we are called to sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15)

Fern and Starr, Everett, Washington

I have a high school friend who has been a pastor for 30+ years. A few years ago he told me that when he found out I was a Christian, he was “shocked” – Hey, no one could be as shocked as I am! For it is only by His amazing grace and mercy that I am saved – yes, even a wretch like me.

When Satan tries to get me to start remembering all of my past sins and tells me I am not worthy to be a Christian, I open God’s Word, I sing the words of hymns and songs of praise to Him. I pray Scripture back to Him and He is faithful and always brings me back to the same place – Any doubt that He loves me, was settled at the cross – AMEN!

I pray for softened hearts and opened eyes as others read these testimonies Ronda is posting. Each story is different and unique, and yet each is the same – we are all sinners, saved by grace through faith. We all need to continue to pray and to keep praying for our unsaved loved ones and family members. I know my salvation is an answer to the prayers of many.

Note from Ronda~

Dear Fern,

I am so grateful for you.  Thank you so much for sharing your testimony here.  You survived!  And you are going to bless so many.  God has been working on me so much this weekend.  And I know that I say that all the time, but it is true!  So thank you so much again, this ministered to my heart.

xoxo Your Sister in Christ,

Ronda

Priorities ~By Krista Canady Motsinger

I came to the knowledge of the saving grace of Jesus when I was really young. Probably around 4. I remember that day really well. I was at the dinner table with my dad when the topic came up and I prayed the “sinners” prayer. I have no doubt that I was truly saved at that age. But I never had a really true relationship with Christ until I was out of high school. Growing up as a PK (preacher’s kid) was tough. I had amazing parents but there is still was so much pressure to be perfect. That is probably when the whole, “I can do it myself” stage started for me.

When I got out of high school, God brought me through a “dry” time in my life and showed me that He was the only thing I needed.  He showed me that the only way to have a fulfilled life was through His word and through fellowship with Him. I ended up in Bible College and just SOAKED up God’s word like it was something new in my life. I would call my dad and tell him what I was learning and he would say, “Yeah, I’ve been telling you those things since you were born.” Funny right?  Ha. But I was still struggling with this part of me that felt like I could do anything and I really was relying on myself a lot, rather than God.

I suppose the older I have gotten the more I have realized what a control freak I am. What God keeps showing me is that I cannot do anything without Him! I constantly want to control everything and it always gets messed up. When I give Him control of my life and every area, that’s when things run smoothly. He has proven that to me over and over again. As soon as I gave Him my desires to lose weight, He blessed me with weight loss. As soon as I gave over my desire to be married, He blessed me with an amazingly Godly husband and two beautiful children.

Peyton, Jason, Krista, and Logan

Motsinger

I have given Him other desires of my heart as well.  They don’t always turn out how I thought they should but they turn out how he knew they would.  He betters me for his work and his glory. As proverbs says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).  By praying for God’s will and desires in my life, his desires have slowly became mine.

This year has been a big eye opener for me in the area of daily getting in God’s word. I’ve found that as I have been married and surrounded by other people, I’ve been easily desensitizing myself to think that my family needs this American dream rather than making eternity with Christ my focus. I was NEVER taught the American dream growing up….but influences around me start getting me thinking that way, far too much. At the beginning of the year, I wrote my new year’s resolutions out. I read over it and this huge amount of shame came over me. On my list were all of these surface goals....the body goals, the house goals, etc....and then 2 tiny goals in the middle said this, "Get Deeper with God", "Work on my prayer Life." My conviction came with this...Why were those two things not the VERY first thing I wrote down on my list? Really? Why is "lose weight,” "remodel this,” "Go do this,” way before my Spiritual health??? Right then and there I told Jason, my husband, "I don't want to just keep scratching the surface with God anymore...I am ready to see what ALL He has for me. I am done with my lazy life with Christ." Thus is where my story begins.

It was time to get Deeper...Put Effort. GO FURTHER! For my marriage, for my kids, and for me!! I was and am ready to be a Godly mom and a Godly wife. So, when you chose to go Deeper with God...He takes you at your word, LOL. All of these *cough* "Respectable Sins" started creeping up. I was struggling even more with them than ever before and was constantly praying about them and going to God's word but they just kept coming up!!

One evening I was at friend’s house and a couple of us ladies were chatting and talking about what God was doing in our lives. Out of the blue, I just spilled out this Sin that has been controlling me for over a year or so. I know it was the Holy Spirit because I just don't share things with people like that....and certainly not my down falls for heaven’s sake. I mean, who wants to rag on themselves to others? I've always been better at bragging about myself. J

But that night changed me. My friend said to me..."you say you have fully given this to God, but are you sure? Are you sure that all of the bitterness and other things that go along with it have been given to God and confessed too?" I honestly thought that I had! I really did. But why was I struggling with it worse than ever before? So my other precious friend, whom I look up to as a spiritual force in my life...and yes people... she is nearly 3 years younger than me....suggested this amazing book that God has used to CHANGE me. "Respectable Sins" by Jerry Bridges.

I ordered it that night because I was DESPERATE! I was longing for freedom from this area like nothing before. I read through the book and realized that things I was struggling with weren't what I thought and God has allowed me to work through this sin. It is a daily STRUGGLE still though and I honestly think it always will be.

Sin never comes into your life uninvited. And struggling with what I struggle with was something I let in. I let myself conform to this world and by doing so I allowed myself to let this sin rule my life. Praise God for His Sovereignty and His patience and His Love and most of all for His Word. Because He has changed me...I have so far to go...and I know I won't reach it until I am in Heaven with Him someday.

God... you are so good to me and I just don't deserve it.

He has placed a few verses in my life that I have on my mirror in my bathroom as a constant reminder of leaning on His word in every area!

"Do not be shaped by this world; instead be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you; you will know what is good and pleasing to Him and what is perfect." Romans 12:2

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." Philippians 4:8

"We must not be PROUD and make trouble with each other or be jealous of each other." Galations 5:5

"But the spirit produces the fruit of Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self control." Galations 5:22-23

Other than God's word, He has been showing me my warning signs and my so called "Triggers."
For the areas that I am struggling in, I ask God to show me what triggers those things? What am I allowing into my mind or life that triggers these sins? And as I said before, no sin comes into one’s life without being invited.

Jason and Krista Motsinger, Tillamook, Oregon

Note from Ronda~

Dear Krista,

I remember the first time we met in Canon Beach, Oregon at the Village Missions annual Pastor’s conference.  I remember every year looking forward to seeing my awesome friend.  I also remember writing with you all through high school. I would always look for really fun magazine pages to use as an envelope.  I remember when you came to visit me and we accidentally drove to Canada (true story).  I remember getting my first and only speeding ticket with you on I-5 somewhere between Chehalis and Longview. I remember when you went to Bible College.  I remember calling you when I got divorced.  I remember you calling me when you met Jason, and I told you that he looked like a ‘player.’  I read your words now and I wish that we didn’t live on opposite sides of the country.

Thank you so much for sharing this.  I am so grateful that first God gave you a heart for him, and then he gave you friends that encourage you.  Sin is an ugly beast with hooks so fine you didn’t know that you got snagged.  Other times it is glaring and we choose to ignore it, or rationalize it away, save it for another day.

Whatever it is that you are dealing with, God knows, and I will be praying for you. Our God is so mighty!

I love you Krista Canady Motsinger!

xoxo, Your Sister in Christ,

Ronda

Prayer Request

Happy 4^th of July everyone (not that this is the 4th, but the weekend of the 4th).  Thank you to all who have blessed this blog with their testimony.  We will resume: ‘A time of testimony’ tomorrow.

I am going to update this post with prayer requests today so that each person who reads and be praying for others.  If you have a prayer request, anonymous or named, please send me and lets lift each other up.

Julie Santos, please pray for her son who is addicted to drugs.  Pray that his addiction will be broken and he will be open and receptive to the Holy Spirit and that his life will be changed and that he will have a testimony.  Pray for peace for Julie and her husband Manuel, that God will bring them comfort during this time.  That he will be their source of joy and contentment.

Karen Gephart shares that she is praising God for sunshine in Seattle!  Grateful that you all get a reprieve from the gray.

Xoxo

Ronda

Something for Everyone ~By Alexander T. Taylor

An open letter to those who suspect, and to those who know: A greater presence exists...
           

This could be a cautionary tale, or it could be the halfway point in a story few people wouldn't relate to in some way. It's a little abstract, a little vague, but I wanted to be clear about the real subject here... God. If you do not believe there is such an entity, continue reading. If you do, continue reading. I'm a weird guy, and this probably isn't what you're expecting.

I write this as a complete and total wretch, a scumbag of the lowest order, purchased secondhand and slowly restored; this is a process which is happening now, and a process which has very little to do with willpower. It has nothing to do with some kind of cathartic purge of something bad within myself. It has everything to do with a presence that everyone everywhere (correctly) knows is there on some level or another, but may not know how to know. That presence is God, and I will tell anyone willing to listen, my experience with Him, and I will attempt to put it plainly.

I grew up in a broken home, which is not special. This turned into many bad decisions and perceptions, complexes, anger, escapist attitudes, and being hopelessly self-centered. This is not special either. Also not special is all the damage these things caused to myself and those around me. I would love to tell you stories about crime, violence, drugs, and desperation, but you've heard them before... they're not special. They're not unique, they're shouldn't be entertaining, and most importantly, they're not the point.

Bear with me! The point is, these things describe quite a few people in the world. I believe that people intuitively know that there is a God, never mind for now if you believe that He is the God of the Bible. People know. I knew. I also believe that people also routinely ignore this fact; we ignore it to keep doing something we believe is good. We ignore it because we believe we're too smart to believe something that can't be proven by science. We ignore it because we believe that there is such a thing as spiritual privacy, that we can hide... but we know it's true. I ignored it because if I made it through everything else, who needs God? Even knowing what I know now, it still (sickeningly) makes some sense to say it, if I take a second to continue to ignore. Here's the difference. I ignored it because of all of the above and more, and all of those things would go away one by one, whether I wanted them to or not.

God took these things away from me one by one. God gave me the ability to see the forest for the trees, even if only for a few brief moments at a time. Christians call this Grace, and we believe it's freely given, often (perhaps always) even when what's asked of us isn't returned. I never changed much about myself, but my options were running out. The avenues to all the things I wanted in life were closing off one at a time, to my great disappointment and dismay...

Fast forward to the summer of 2009, when friends invited me to church. With enough of my desires and ambitions hidden away, I went, and the pastor told me that if I genuinely asked Him to change me forever, he would. I was sure that this was something he would have to say to everyone, like a car salesman would have to try and close a deal with everyone that walked in the front door. The part of me that always knew about God was the only part of me that asked for this change, and it was genuine. Everything after this was a part of a nonstop movement toward knowing God, and as I said before, it had little to do with willpower and nothing to do with some cathartic event.

           

            This is a brief summary of the next three months.

At this time I was running a small home based business. The revenue dried up within two weeks and I was looking for a job, a job I wouldn't find for three months. Anyone who's ever been broke knows that it is humbling, and it was no different for me. Within weeks of asking Him to change me, the opportunity to attend a free Bible college, Contenders, geared toward creating ministers was offered. I accepted, and began reading the Bible so that I could be somewhat prepared. During this time, it was important to me to discover WHY this supposed change would occur, and if it really the God of the Bible, and this was my goal in reading it at all. I finally gained employment as the school was beginning; I will always remember this three months as “the reset button”, because of how few distractions and stumbling blocks there were, and because of how humbling they were.

Every day something changed in me... little to do with willpower, and as I searched, I discovered that the promise of personal change is one of many things promised to us by God, all so that we might be complete and together with Him. It's all there in black and white...

Now, I am happy to tell anyone who is still willing to listen that I am in school to become a minister, that the personal change is still ongoing, and that I now understand (at least on a basic level) that God is real, personal, and His promises are right in front of us. That He is right in front of us, all the time. You don't have to be a former criminal or a drug user. Maybe you're the opposite of me, straight-laced, from a normal family and not a care in the world. If you believe that enough about you is good, that you don't believe that He is real, or that nothing about your life puts you in His radar, I'm not writing to tell you that you're wrong. I'm writing to tell you that no matter where you are in life, believer or not, that the promise is real, it's for everyone, and it's more incredible than anything you could imagine... believer or not, none of us will ever even come close to understanding completely, that we all have a long way to walk, and that it overshadows everything else. I can tell you this beyond any doubt, that God is real, He knows you and cares about you.

If you are a believer, you have already experienced this at least a little. If you are not, I know at least a small part of this makes sense. If this is you, or if you actually DO want to hear stories about drugs, crime, etc., I invite you to write to me: oaktubs@gmail.com

Alexander T. Taylor

Lynnwood, Washington
pictured with Di Beals, Canyon Creek Church
July 2009

Note from Ronda~

I met Alex back in 2003…Sam introduced us.  I barely knew Sam when he invited me to his “bands practice” up in Lake Stevens, Washington.  There I met Wesley Mitchell, Adam Hauck, Alex Taylor, and got to see Sam play music.  My brother Paul came with me and we were blown away.  This was around the time I started walking away from God.  I started managing that band and many others and but during this time I got to know Alex.  Alex came to work with me at City University in Bellevue and we drove to work with each other most days, because it was a LONG drive.  Made even longer by the fact that Alex and I are both: incredibly stubborn, incredibly outspoken, and incredibly opinionated…and we both have incredibly different tastes in music.  So we debated often the entire commute to and from work, all for the sake of arriving at work or home in a slight fluster, neither convincing the other of anything different.  Ahhh, good times.

To see and know this man now is a blessing.

Alex,

We love you so much.  You are going to make an amazing minister for God, in fact, you are already an amazing minister for God and are ministering right here, right now.  Thank you.  Thank you for putting this down for everyone to read.

Your Sister in Christ,

Ronda