Testimony Thread - Come on in!!

Iwanthealthyhair67 said:

A few years ago my pastor prophesied that my house would be a house of refuge honestly, I reluctantly received that prophesy and doubted it, I've lived alone for years and liked my 'own' space ...when I got lonely I got a dog I preferred their company over peoples (even in that the Lord's hands was working on me)...

Year before last my niece asked me to move in with me (she will be 17 in April...I wanted to say no, and hoped that after I explained the house rules she would change her mind, she didn't...

meaning than she would worship when I worshipped, there would be no dating, no phone calls from boys etc.,

I got NO financial help from her mother (my sister who is not employed) and her Dad, would only provide lunch money most times...

I had at least one christian friend tell me that my house was too 'strict' that I was dealing with a 'teenager' and my approach should be different give her some freedom let her have a boyfriend and go out with him/friends etc., etc.,

The Lord has blessed us tremendously, with HIS help I maintained, all my bills AND taken care of my niece he is consnantly giving me the wisdom that I need to help rear my niece and my baby sister who recently moved in also.

It has been a bumpy road but there has been no lack, the Lord is teaching me patience, how to trust him, how to love and so much more...we don't have to rear our children like the world does we are of a 'different' kingdom with different kind of principles...

My niece will graduate high school in a few months (June) with the best gpa she has ever had (3.00 and 3.40 accummulative) AND I'm happy to say that she is saved...she also passed 2 BGCSE's (English certificates) has signed up for 4 more that we are believing God that she will pass..

Look what the Lord has done...

Click to expand...

Prudent1 said:

Thanks for the thread tag. That's exactly what we did for our service too. It was and is always awesome to hear of God's overwhelming goodness. You know we'll never be able to articulate how good God is but here's one of my 2011 testimonies I feel led to share. In the fall of 2010 DD#1 gave birth to a son, Jeremiah, who was a few weeks preemie but in excellent health otherwise. He got to come home after about 2 weeks at the hospital. When he was 3 weeks old he stopped breathing at some point in his sleep. DD ran into my room frantically. I immediately started CPR while she called paramedics. He started to breathe again and was hungry. The medics arrived, checked him out, and found no abnomalities. He went to our family pediatrician the next day where he was throughly examined again but nothing was amiss. Wednesday night during bible study, God gave a dear sister a word for us concerning Jeremiah which we heeded immediately. During the week many prayers went forth along with words of affirmation and he was annointed several times. On Monday morning he turned 1 month old. I was awakened again by DD#1 rushing into my room screams of "God please not again!" He stopped breathing once more. This time despite my efforts to revive him, he did not seem to respond. I'd just heard them up a little more than an hour ago for an early morning feeding. I was continually praying the entire time. As the ambulance sped off towards the local hospital DD and I notified family members and made a quick dash for the car and the hospital. An hour later the medical staff walked into the family waiting room to tell us that Jeremiah had passed despite their best efforts. I remember collapsing onto a little end table of sorts and lamp before dissolving into gut wrenching sobs. We had just gone shopping the day before and bought all of these cute outfits. Mentally I had all of these plans of sitting in the stands at his sporting events cheering for him and me telling him not to date this girl, me being escorted in at his wedding, taking cookies to his school bake sale, his 1st tooth, etc-all gone in a flash. I had to tell my parents and other family the horrible news. I posted about it a few days afterward here asking for prayers.
Even though I couldn't/can't understand why he was/is gone and don't believe God is behind premature deaths of that nature (think of those pretty poems about God needing flowers, new stars or new angels etc erplexed )I made a decision right there to stand firmly on the word of God.
I knew that I knew that I KNEW this is where the rubber meets the road.
I knew- that all things are not a part of God's perfect will but even in those circumstances he can and will work them out for my good cause I love him and I have been called according to his purpose.
Rom 8:28
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.
I knew-
Also from Romans 8
35 Who (or what)shall separate(me) us from the (perfect, everlasting) love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate (me) us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I kept God's word in my mouth as much as possible. Especially these passages here.
Psalm 34
1I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Psa 23:3 He restoreth my soul:
And this here-
Psalm 121

1I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

2My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.

3He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

4Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.

6The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

7The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

8The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Never thought SIDS would've have hit so close to home. Never thought I'd have to watch my DD suffer in such a way and not be able to fix it for her:hero:. It was as if we had been eviscerated with a rusty, blunt, object. I knew I had to keep my eyes on God. I knew he loved us, saw us, was intimately integrated in our situation no matter how many tears fell. I knew weeping was temporary and that God's joy was our strength. We pushed on with his help. Many trips to the cemetary have ensued but God has kept our minds. No one turned to drugs, alcohol, had medical problems as a result of or anything of the like and we will not either. Why? B/c I know that this life is but a stop on a much larger journey. I know that if I live to see my 150th b'day one day the real me will leave this cafe au lait suit I'm in. When I do I'll have one more person I want to see again. So, until then I am so grateful for all of the experiences I have had in life. I am learning to count it all joy.

2 Corinthians 5

1For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
3If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.

4For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
5Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

6Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

7(For we walk by faith, not by sight

8We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

So, all of that to say God is with us. #nomatterwhat
We lost way too much weight, suffered hair loss, let the houskeeping go, laughed cried, and loved on each other but we never let go of God's hand. My walk continues in 2012 but I know I'll never have to go it alone.

Click to expand...

Prudent1 said:

Thanks for the thread tag. That's exactly what we did for our service too. It was and is always awesome to hear of God's overwhelming goodness.

You know we'll never be able to articulate how good God is but here's one of my 2011 testimonies I feel led to share. In the fall of 2010 DD#1 gave birth to a son, Jeremiah, who was a few weeks preemie but in excellent health otherwise. He got to come home after about 2 weeks at the hospital. When he was 3 weeks old he stopped breathing at some point in his sleep. DD ran into my room frantically. I immediately started CPR while she called paramedics. He started to breathe again and was hungry.

The medics arrived, checked him out, and found no abnomalities. He went to our family pediatrician the next day where he was throughly examined again but nothing was amiss. Wednesday night during bible study, God gave a dear sister a word for us concerning Jeremiah which we heeded immediately.

During the week many prayers went forth along with words of affirmation and he was annointed several times. On Monday morning he turned 1 month old. I was awakened again by DD#1 rushing into my room screams of "God please not again!" He stopped breathing once more. This time despite my efforts to revive him, he did not seem to respond. I'd just heard them up a little more than an hour ago for an early morning feeding. I was continually praying the entire time.

As the ambulance sped off towards the local hospital DD and I notified family members and made a quick dash for the car and the hospital. An hour later the medical staff walked into the family waiting room to tell us that Jeremiah had passed despite their best efforts.

I remember collapsing onto a little end table of sorts and lamp before dissolving into gut wrenching sobs. We had just gone shopping the day before and bought all of these cute outfits. Mentally I had all of these plans of sitting in the stands at his sporting events cheering for him and me telling him not to date this girl, me being escorted in at his wedding, taking cookies to his school bake sale, his 1st tooth, etc-all gone in a flash. I had to tell my parents and other family the horrible news. I posted about it a few days afterward here asking for prayers.

Even though I couldn't/can't understand why he was/is gone and don't believe God is behind premature deaths of that nature (think of those pretty poems about God needing flowers, new stars or new angels etc erplexed )I made a decision right there to stand firmly on the word of God.

I knew that I knew that I KNEW this is where the rubber meets the road.
I knew- that all things are not a part of God's perfect will but even in those circumstances he can and will work them out for my good cause I love him and I have been called according to his purpose.

Rom 8:28
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.

I knew-

Also from Romans 8
35 Who (or what)shall separate(me) us from the (perfect, everlasting) love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate (me) us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I kept God's word in my mouth as much as possible. Especially these passages here.

Psalm 34
1I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Psa 23:3 He restoreth my soul:

And this here-

Psalm 121

1I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

2My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.

3He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

4Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.

6The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

7The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

8The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Never thought SIDS would've have hit so close to home. Never thought I'd have to watch my DD suffer in such a way and not be able to fix it for her:hero:. It was as if we had been eviscerated with a rusty, blunt, object. I knew I had to keep my eyes on God. I knew he loved us, saw us, was intimately integrated in our situation no matter how many tears fell.

I knew weeping was temporary and that God's joy was our strength.

We pushed on with his help. Many trips to the cemetary have ensued but God has kept our minds.

No one turned to drugs, alcohol, had medical problems as a result of or anything of the like and we will not either. Why? B/c I know that this life is but a stop on a much larger journey.

I know that if I live to see my 150th b'day one day the real me will leave this cafe au lait suit I'm in. When I do I'll have one more person I want to see again. So, until then I am so grateful for all of the experiences I have had in life. I am learning to count it all joy.

2 Corinthians 5

1For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
3If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.

4For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
5Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

6Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

7(For we walk by faith, not by sight

8We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

So, all of that to say God is with us. #nomatterwhat
We lost way too much weight, suffered hair loss, let the houskeeping go, laughed cried, and loved on each other but we never let go of God's hand. My walk continues in 2012 but I know I'll never have to go it alone.

Click to expand...

TraciChanel said:

If I had stayed at that job, I would have gotten comfortable and probably would have delayed going back. So, it was a blessing in disguise.

Click to expand...

GulfCoastChica said:

Thanks for the tag. Mine is very personal but felt the strong need to share.

Me and my husband had been trying for couple of years to conceive naturally. When we had no luck after a year, we went to a fertility specialist. After a bunch of tests, he said we were both perfectly healthy (unexplained fertility) and that we should start IUI. Well, something told me to just stop and break from the TTC. While taking the break, both me and my husband got awesome new job offers within a couple of weeks of each other. At that point, we really put trying to conceive on hold. Well, when we both made a year on our respective new jobs, we started trying to conceive again with no luck.

At the urging of my wonderful sister, we decided to go to another Fertility Specialist. On the first appointment, he diagnosed me with fibroids via a vaginal ultrasound. I was excited because the kind of fibroids I had were submuscosal which decrease fertility as much as 70%. So, I was like "YES"! I could just get a surgery and be better. Not so easy. I went in for an HSG test to see the location of the fibroids more clearly and my doctor told me my tubes were abnormal and he would need to remove at least one of them but likely both. I was so depressed because that left my only option at IVF.

Fast forward to my surgery in December - I had been praying for strength and healing ever since I heard the bad news. Right before the surgery, I asked the doctor if he would try his best to save the one tube even though it appeared to be abnormal. Losing both tubes just seemed so final. He said he would only remove what he needed to.

Well, when I woke up from the surgery,the first thing my husband says is that the doctor did not remove either of my tubes because they were perfectly normal when he went in. At first, I thought it was a dream, but the doctor came in later and confirmed what my husband told me. He also said that he wanted us to try on our own again for a few cycles after I heal up.

In summary, I went from likely having both tubes removed, to possibly keeping one tube, to keeping both tubes and being given the all clear to try naturally. GLORY BE TO GOD!!!!! I am not pregnant yet (still recovering), but I KNOW that God is working it out and we will have our own healthy child soon!

Click to expand...

GulfCoastChica said:

Thanks for the tag. Mine is very personal but felt the strong need to share.

Me and my husband had been trying for couple of years to conceive naturally. When we had no luck after a year, we went to a fertility specialist. After a bunch of tests, he said we were both perfectly healthy (unexplained fertility) and that we should start IUI. Well, something told me to just stop and break from the TTC. While taking the break, both me and my husband got awesome new job offers within a couple of weeks of each other. At that point, we really put trying to conceive on hold. Well, when we both made a year on our respective new jobs, we started trying to conceive again with no luck.

At the urging of my wonderful sister, we decided to go to another Fertility Specialist. On the first appointment, he diagnosed me with fibroids via a vaginal ultrasound. I was excited because the kind of fibroids I had were submuscosal which decrease fertility as much as 70%. So, I was like "YES"! I could just get a surgery and be better. Not so easy. I went in for an HSG test to see the location of the fibroids more clearly and my doctor told me my tubes were abnormal and he would need to remove at least one of them but likely both. I was so depressed because that left my only option at IVF.

Fast forward to my surgery in December - I had been praying for strength and healing ever since I heard the bad news. Right before the surgery, I asked the doctor if he would try his best to save the one tube even though it appeared to be abnormal. Losing both tubes just seemed so final. He said he would only remove what he needed to.

Well, when I woke up from the surgery,the first thing my husband says is that the doctor did not remove either of my tubes because they were perfectly normal when he went in. At first, I thought it was a dream, but the doctor came in later and confirmed what my husband told me. He also said that he wanted us to try on our own again for a few cycles after I heal up.

In summary, I went from likely having both tubes removed, to possibly keeping one tube, to keeping both tubes and being given the all clear to try naturally. GLORY BE TO GOD!!!!! I am not pregnant yet (still recovering), but I KNOW that God is working it out and we will have our own healthy child soon!

Click to expand...

• "Great is Thy faithfulness!" "Great is Thy faithfulness!"
  Morning by morning new mercies I see;
  All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
  "Great is Thy faithfulness," Lord, unto me!

jturner7156 said:

I have one...thanks for tagging Traci!! December 30, 2011.... I had made up in my mind that I wasnt going but my Pastor wasn't having that so I went to Church in a very bitter and sad mode. I was angry about being single but I just begin to praise God anyway because I knew it was a fight from the enemy. So the more I praised him, the more the tears began to fall and I began to shout and praise God more and more. And one of the ministers prophesied to me without knowing what I was going through and said my husband was coming soon!

MORE DETAILS COMING SOON...IN JESUS' NAME!

Click to expand...

ms.mimi said:

I would be here for months typing about the Lord's love, mercy, goodness, faithful, blessings, lessons, comfort, on and on.... He has shown me. I'll just name three, so you won't have to read a book.
~The Lord strengthen me in the area of letting go of some people that needed to be on their way. I was one of those people that thought letting people go on their way was a form of throwing people away. And it's not. I love them, I speak to them but can't allow negative thinking, speech, unnecessary conflict, trying to prove myself, etc... to distract me from who I am and what I'm called to do.
~We haven't been in TX long, I prayed that my dd would find some really nice girls to become friends with. The 1st couple of friends were very rocky however this last set are really nice girls from the church. YAY! She has so much fun with them and is so happy. YAY!!!!! Thank you Lord.
~The Lord has provided. Our needs are well provided for. Hubby has favor on his job, I work from home and have favor on mine. We're not rolling but all of our needs are taken care of and whatever comes up, and we have had some unexpected expenses, some way some how the Lord has provided. Example I had to go get my niece from MA to come and live with us. And we only had 4 weeks notice to get my round trip and her one way ticket. Then she wanted to go with dd on 2 ministry trips. $450+ We had no idea how we were going to do these things. Thank You Lord, cause they got done.

My faithful Heavenly Father is good all the time. I truly claim the hymn 'Great is Thy Faithfulness' as not only 2011 testimony but my life's testimony.

"Great is Thy faithfulness," O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

• "Great is Thy faithfulness!" "Great is Thy faithfulness!"
  Morning by morning new mercies I see;
  All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
  "Great is Thy faithfulness," Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Click to expand...

Lissa0821 said:

This happened a number of years ago, but I was reminded of today as I read this thread and due to the fact I believe God can cause a 24 hour changed in my present circumstance.

Years ago I had a falling out with my sister who lived in Atlanta, and moved to stay with a friend and her family in New Orleans. I stayed there for about 4 months and returned to Atlanta. I still was not in contact with my sister and was renting a room in the Downtown area. I had gotten a temp assignment quickly. One day, I came home and my roommate asked to borrow my Marta card so that she could go to her boyfriend place. I told her she needed to come back home that night because I did not have any money to buy another one to get to work if she didn't return. Needless to say later on that night I realized she was not coming home.

I started crying because I had no money and did not want to lose this job. All I heard was Praise me, so I started to sing with tears flowing, I was brokenhearted and afraid but I kept at it. To make matters worst, the people over me had gotten into a fight and was having a shouting match. Here I am in my bedroom, penniless and praising God. I think I sang every song I knew that night and fell asleep exhausted.

I got up the next morning and I got dressed hoping my roommate would return in enough time that I could still make it to work. I sat on my bed and I heard as clear as day, check your wallet. I said Lord there is nothing in there, but I will check it anyway. I pulled my wallet out of my purse and checked every compartment and found $90. To this day, I have no idea how that money came to be in my wallet, it was in a place I would put money.

I will never forget that feeling or that day as long as I live.

Thank you Lord that you will do it again. Nothing is impossible with you.

Click to expand...