Testimony Time :: Bonnie

Good morning, friends!

I have had the wonderful privilege of growing up in a Christian family. For as long as I can remember, we've read the Bible together each day (usually multiple times - once in the morning, and once in the evening) and prayed together. My parents have always instilled in my siblings and I the wonderful benefits and blessings of having a relationship with the Lord Jesus.

I don't remember this, but I'm told the time I accepted Jesus into my heart was on the 24th of January 2001, when I was almost 3 years old (I know, young, right??).

I am a sinner, and I know that the wrong things I have done make it impossible for me to attain Heaven's perfection under my own merits. I am a sinner, a fallen human being, and cannot live for eternity with the Lord because of my wrongdoing.

But God, in His everlasting love, faithfulness, justice and mercy, provided a way for me to be saved - His son, Jesus, who He sent down to earth. Jesus lived a perfect life, then was cruelly killed on a cross, a punishment he did not deserve. If I put my faith and hope in Jesus, then his righteousness is transferred to me and I am pure, spotless and clean, making me able to enter Heaven when my walk on this earth is done.

I was baptized in December 2010. That was a wonderful experience, being able to publicly declare who I trusted in and that I was following Jesus.

I think the one word that best sums up God during my walk with Him is "faithful".

Throughout all the hills and the valleys and the ups and downs of life, God is always faithful. And he always will be.

I have found, in my life, that God is always able to be fully trusted. He is in control, no matter what happens. I am most definitely not perfect. I make mistakes, all the time, and botch it up. But God is merciful, gracious, forgiving and loving.... He is my best friend and I absolutely cannot imagine life without Him.

I'd like to close here with a couple of my very favourite scripture references.


Psalm 16:11
You will show me the path that leads to life, in Your presence is fullness of joy.

Isaiah 43:1-3

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior

Many blessings to you all! :)

~*~*~*~

Just Obey—and Step Out (a message snippet by Eric Ludy)

I find the sermons by Eric Ludy encouraging, and since we don’t have a post for today, I thought I’d share this video with you. I hope you’re encouraged as well!

“And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:3-4

“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps….” 1 Peter 2:21

May you be encouraged as we come to the end of another week!

Into the Desert

“But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.…Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter….”
—Galatians 1:11-12, 17-18a

Paul received the gospel straight from Jesus—not from the disciple’s witness, as we do today. This was the basis for why we call him “Paul the Apostle”—because he learned his doctrine straight from the Lord.

After his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus, he went into Arabia—a desert. There, he spent quite a while—possibly up to three years—before returning to Jerusalem. A desert is a sign of self-denial. And there was the place he went to learn.

Where is your desert, friend? Where do you go to get away from the world, a place shut away from everyone else? Maybe even, perhaps, like Paul, a place where others fear to go and mostly leave to it self? Where is the place you can go alone, where only Jesus can reach you? Even if it is one short hour, or maybe just a couple snatched minutes, make use of that time. Draw nigh to Him—and He will draw nigh to you (James 4:8a).

Here Am I, Send Me

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with

the tongs from off the altar:  And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”

Isa 6:1-8 KJV

            On April 30, 2009, the above verse became alive in my life and forever changed me. That day started as any other normal day. I went to work at my secretarial job from 7:00am to 5:00pm. Little did I know the change that would take place before the sun set that day. After supper that night, I was just doing things around the house when my mother called me and announced a phone call for me. She announced the name of the caller and I knew immediately why he was calling. Answering the phone, the caller introduced himself and the mission he represented, asking me if I might know why he is calling. To which I answered the affirmative. The caller was contacting me on behalf of the Olive Branch Mennonite Mission. One of the single girls serving in Nicaragua was scheduled to leave the mission field in August and they contacted me to see if I was open to serving for two years. We closed the conversation with the caller asking me to pray about it and contact him as soon as I had an answer. I hung up the phone, relayed the message to my parents, before grabbing my cell phone and leaving on my bike.

Biking down the road, I first called my pastor’s wife to let them know of the call and to ask for prayers. Hanging up with her, I headed to the local park. I needed to sit down. At this point, many questions were running through my head. Why me? Is my dream coming true? Can I really do this? Will I be able to be separated from my family for so long? I want to go but… I called my best friend, telling her all that had happened, asking her for advice. After I hung up, I still felt overwhelmed, but I knew the God who called me on this journey, was also the God who was faithful and would be by my side, if I would only lay aside my humanness and trust on Him.

As I searched God’s Word and His will for me, I was guided to Isaiah 6. Yes, I had heard this passage many, many times; but on this particular night, the passage took on a new meaning. I felt as Moses did. Inadequate for the task that was before, but I was called. I felt the call of God on my heart. Would I shrink back from the task? As much as it was tempting, I wanted to be where God wanted me and He was calling me to serve in Nicaragua. He was asking the question: who will go for us?

As I near the 5-year anniversary of receiving that life-changing call, I look back in awe of what God has done in my life, not only as I served in Nicaragua but also as I continue to serve Him in my hometown. The call of “whom shall I send, and who will go for us” is not only  a call to the foreign field, but it is a daily call. As believers and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are daily called to serve Him and “stand in the gap” for those who are seeking. Let it not be said as was in Ezekiel’s day:

“And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” Ezekiel 22:30 KJV

Daily accept the call that is placed upon your life. Seeing the Hand of God in my life when I am truly committed to “standing in the gap” and being willing “to be sent” has humbled me. The blessing that comes from being “available” to be used of God cannot be explained. Being used in my hometown has brought just as many blessings as serving  in foreign lands. You may or may not be called to another land. Be ready and willing to go where He wants you to go and fill in the gap where He has called you.

I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go by The Kauffman Family

We All Have a Purpose

Tears streamed down the little girl's face. She just didn't understand why mommy and daddy weren't coming home. And why was her little brother laying in that bed, surrounded by so many wires and people. What was wrong? Why was mommy crying?

Everything seemed so strange as she stood there, waiting for someone to console her, but nobody realized the little girl's tears right away. They were all listening to the doctor as he explained his latest discovery about her brother. But what she didn't understand was that her little brother was very, very sick.

Her little brother had been born with a rare disease, one known as Maple Syrup Urine Disease or MSUD. Having MSUD meant that her little brother couldn't eat the same food she did and he got sick so quick, often going to the hospital as was the situation this time.

As you fast forward a few years, questions still plagued my little mind. I asked my mother why Jordan couldn't eat or do the same things I did. Taking me aside, my mother began to explain that God did not make a mistake when Jordan was born. He was born for a reason and God had a plan for him.

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11 (KJV).

As I got older, I began to understand that although there may not always be a visual reason for why things happen, God always has a plan for each circumstance. We may not see it right away, but many times looking at circumstances several weeks, months or years after it occurred, we can plainly see what God’s plan was.

Maybe learning comes slowly for you. You wonder what tomorrow may bring. Why can my friends do this, but I can't? God has a plan for you and is working through your life at this moment.

Enjoy the Moment

I wish Mummy would hurry up and have the baby.

I wish it was teatime already... that chicken cooking smells soooo good!

I wish the lawnmower outside would quit making that horrible noise.

I wish it was time for camp again.

I wish I had lots of chocolate.

I wish I was 16. 15 is such a boring age.


I want you to do a little exercise for me. Think back to a time when you wished something would hurry up and happen. Maybe you wished it was time to go away on holiday, for example. Whatever it was, did it happen?

Did wishing it would happen make it happen any faster?

The correct answer is, of course, No.

Now don't get me wrong. I am looking forward to when Mummy has our precious new baby, and I am looking forward to a time when I have lots of chocolate. :) But there is a perceivable difference between looking forward to something and wishing away our days.

Here's an example for you. Right now I wish I was older and married and had children of my own. But guess what - Mum is older and married and has children of her own... and she says it happened really quickly!!

Before you know it, the time you were wishing for will have come... and gone.

So here's my point. Enjoy the moment. 

Jon Sullivan

Don't spend your life wishing you were the next year older,  it was the next month later etc! There will come a time when you will look back and wonder why you wished away the best years of your life.

Not meaning, of course, that the best years of your life are not yet to come. But isn't it nice to be the age you are? Isn't it nice to have some time to stop and smell the roses? Isn't it nice being who you are, where you are?


Ecclesiastes 11:9 says:

Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes.

Enjoy every moment!

Blessings

~Bonnie