Winter 2010 Newsletter

When you hear the words "my chains" what do you think? My team and I were in Willis, TX helping a church with a drama convention. We did drama class all day. We also broke the students up into groups and had them write skits in order to perform them at the evening service that night. The group that I was in ended up coming up with a skit that was similar to my testimony. I had lived with my mom and her boyfriend. My mom was an alcoholic and had been abused by her boyfriend. We often time couldn't pay the bills and we rarely had money for food. In the skit my group had written I had to play the part that was similar to my mom. At first I was ok with playing the part but as time went on I began to get more and more nervous. I began to ask God to take me out of doing the part. I felt like Jesus in the garden before his crucifiction. I wasn't suffering physically but spiritually in my heart I was. I knew that I was being put in this situation for a reason. I knew that I was still bound by chains of something. I began to ask God for strength. Worship started for the evening service and one song really began to speak to me. The song was "Love Came Down" by Brian Johnson. The lyrics are as follows: "I remind myself of all You have done and the life I have because of Your son. Love came down and rescued me. Love came down to set me free. I'm Yours, I'm Yours, forever." These words opened up my eyes and helped me realize that I didn't have to worry about being like my mom because God rescued me. November 2004 was when God came down and rescued me. I moved in with my aunt and uncle, however I was living like my mom. I remember one night when my mom's boyfriend told me to run away, and I wanted to but for some reason I couldn't. That song reminded me of that moment in my life. He saved me from a life full of abuse, drugs, a run of bad relationships, and a whole lot more.

I want to encourage you to think and remember everything that God has done for you and helped you get out of. It doesn't matter how big or small it is, it was still God's hand moving. Ephesians 2:1-2 and 4-6 talks about being saved by Gods grace! Did you ever think that God might be trying to show you something by using your past like He did me? Take the story of Moses for instance. Those people faced so many trials just so they could be shown how much God loved them! God may be trying to show you the same thing. I encourage you seek for them, God is willing to reveal wonders if we just look for them.