"THIS IS MY STORY... this is my song..."
I'm not sure that you, as a reader can see or follow this, but God seems to have been presenting "posts" or songs, or His Word to me in a certain thread and for a specific purpose of sharing my story, which in many "faiths" we label as a 'testimony'... a life testimony... a personal testimony... because without a doubt God does change my life daily...
Ever since I started my blog, various friends have asked me, if I've shared my testimony?...and then throughout this time, I've been noticing so many great ones in blog world. I determined that I was to pursue this endeavor in 2010 (thus part of the reason for my lack in proper blogging etiquette this year) though I just was not sure that I had a testimony to share or as my earlier post today sang
"WHERE DO I BEGIN..."
... though my life is not at all like "LOVE STORY", it is a love story when it comes to my walk with Jesus Christ... the good, the bad and the ugly. I truly believe that GOD ordains my steps. My entire life has been a series of Love stories ...
I set up these posts with that in mind and now have no idea where to start, which has been my reason for delaying writing or sharing this for all this time.
Where do you begin to share this story, when you've known God, the Father, Son & Holy Spirit all your life. The problem is that I was not in a church that speaks about 'testimonies', or at the time I grew up, even allowed "regular people" to read the Word of God. My...how I have grown and changed because I could not even live a day without a taste from His DAILY MANNA... I have no particular 'conversion experience' or a great elaborate story of a life changing moment but a lifetime of these.
Yet my foundational beliefs are basically the same, I have grown so much in the transitions through my life and the churches that I've attended that knowing Jesus Christ becomes more REAL every day since we began our journey of LOVE, a relationship that far outweighs every other and a life that would not be complete with knowing Jesus Christ as my Lord & Savior. The problem is allowing ALL you KNOW to transcend the knowing & go deep down and transform my heart and my life.I may have said all my life that "Jesus is Lord of my life" because He is my Lord & Savior, but it wasn't until an awareness hit me & a clear awakening that I have said this over and over, been in church all that I can, served, heard, ministered & was ministered to much, prayed with other's but I truly was not LIVING an abundant life in Jesus Christ, and really had not MADE or ALLOWED HIM to reign & rule as my LORD. This awakening makes me wonder when does my testimony begin.
I have prayed "the prayer"* millions of times! I was baptized as an infant; than chose to be baptized again as a believing adult, wanting to affirm my dedication & commitment to Christ; surrendering my life to following His, more than once... and each time that I MESSED up, I wanted to start over again, clean slate... surrendering again, but each sweet surrender was more each time; instead of one from complete brokenness in need, I was now ready & willing to be fresh; being filled with the Holy Spirit; on fire for Jesus... yet still NO moment of TESTIMONY, just many experiences which testify of His Redemptive Spirit in my life.
[sidenote: I recently was absorbed in watching many of Francis Chan's videos, and he mentioned in a video that no where in the Bible, God's Word, does it guarantee entrance into our eternal life by just saying "the "PRAYER"*(cited to above). Now, because that's been my intent, many times, as I go out to witness/ evangelize, to lead each person in the "sinner's prayer", this really struck me and stayed with me.
[Since this is my first in my series of sharing my walk, I will try not to meander on his point here.]
[sidenote: I recently was absorbed in watching many of Francis Chan's videos, and he mentioned in a video that no where in the Bible, God's Word, does it guarantee entrance into our eternal life by just saying "the "PRAYER"*(cited to above). Now, because that's been my intent, many times, as I go out to witness/ evangelize, to lead each person in the "sinner's prayer", this really struck me and stayed with me.
[Since this is my first in my series of sharing my walk, I will try not to meander on his point here.]
I am a spirit filled BORN AGAIN Christian!
I am so thankful for my roots and also my wings in my faith walk. I am aMazed every day by God's AMAZING GRACE... I did not know the day I sat down to start a blog all the reasons for choosing as I chose; or better said as I was led to declare: my blog title, my name, my profile, my purpose, my mission, my verse of Isaiah 61... yet step by step, I was led by His Holy Spirit. I prayed before I began and the rest has been the history and my 'modus operandi' each time I posted, to PRAY, as many of you do... and allow His Spirit to lead me...
Maybe you may be thinking as you listened to this beautiful classic song & admired these young precious dancers, 'how presumptuous of me' to think this great song or even "aMazing Grace" could be songs used to describe my life in Jesus Christ and that the Holy Spirit would give them to me... but though I knew of these dancers and even this great song... I, myself, would not have chosen them or looked for them to begin to tell my story... yet I was led for a reason only known by God Himself, at this point... ya' have to laugh about the earlier ones today, however they are favorites of mine from the 70s... God does have such a sense of humor when He knew this was my intent in August to finally put this together... throughout the month of August, I'm hoping as He leads and lays the groundwork... or perhaps after I finish the upcoming study... we'll see...
aMazing Grace was added quickly to my blog name after I began... because I was amazed and continue being aMazed by His aMazing Grace. It just seemed to fit... and I heard the song at that time. First I chose the 3 words, MAZES, MESSES & MIRACLES to describe my life journey. God, in His infinite wisdom, instilled those words in my mind and He has been revealing so much to me of why those words and the significance they have to my 'testimony'. With the "name" I chose for myself, being "mazmagi", it was only natural to get MAZ from Mazatlan, and the word "más" in Spanish means "more"...so More of Him in me... is all I need, and from that came the "mazes" having HIS MAZE as my only path instead of many dead ends... (it's also the style in which I write sometimes, in a maze with a purpose maybe only I follow or can see, so forgive me)
Hopefully, He will continue to reveal and direct my words, lead my steps or how much I share because my life story is in the making... not a history or herstory maker, but HIS Story ALIVE in me!
So instead of being a well, put together or thought out TESTIMONY or LIFE STORY, I will be sharing portions as I go along and TRUST in HIM, to lead, direct and guide me (maybe for the first time ever as truly being my LORD) in this MAZE, through the many MESSES of my life, to shine glory on what Jesus has done in me, and is doing through His Holy Spirit even as I write, in what I see as His MIRACLE producing fruit hopefully and blessings on me through this journey of life, I call a FAITH WALK... yes, even the name of the dance group "STEPS of FAITH" had a part in laying out the groundwork... I hope you'll be blessed as you "walk" through this with me...
... end of PART I ...
... to be continued as led ...
marked by this
&
from my WFW now
personalized
2 Corinthians 3:3 (The Message)
"...Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ Himself wrote it, not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives, and we publish it."
...Peggy, your very life is a letter...
that anyone should be able to read by just looking at you.
Christ Himself wrote it - not with ink,
but with God's Living Spirit;
not chiseled into stone,
but carved
into human lives
YOURS
and we publish it
right here
at
The beginning of this BLOG (in case you're new to me and never read):
- Blog's Initial Post, Mission, & Verse April 3rd, 2008
- Blog's MISSION
- Blog's NAME-WHY?
- *******************************************************
Earlier posts that are leading towards my testimony:
aAnd even some others ever since I returned from Minnesota, the Holy Spirit has been clearly directing my steps!!! These are Steps of Faith and I know all the books that I am reading added to His most Holy WORD are speaking and I'm really listening attentively.
The following link is a PROPHETIC MESSAGE I read today, from JULY 23rd, as given by Mary Liddow (The Messenger Blog) that seems to be one example of God speaking - and not just to me:
